After a fifteen-year hiatus, reggae artist Buju Banton made an unforgettable return to Canada, attempting to captivate the audience with a mix of raw passion and theatricality. dazzling the crowd last night at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena with a performance that made them feel happy and proud to be Caribbean-American diasporans.
Before the event, Buju had an interview with Specs Da Boss of Flo 98.7, where he shared his enthusiasm about getting back together with his Canadian fan base as well as some details about his artistic career.
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Erue White, the director of basketball at Mississauga’s St Jude’s Academy, spoke at the main event and gave his reflections on the unforgettable evening.
White stated, summarizing Buju’s performance’s breadth, which included his dancehall hits, spiritual tunes, and classic songs, “I attended the Buju concert last night. It was a great concert – he performed extremely well, very energetic on the stage, sang every tune that was needed. It was a very spiritual concert at the end.”
When Buju asked guests from different islands to reflect on their history, White emphasized a particularly noteworthy moment as the event honored Caribbean togetherness.
White noted “The most memorable moment of the concert for me was when Buju went through just having everybody from the Caribbean kinda represent their heritage, calling out Grenada, Guyana, Trinidad, Jamaica obviously, and Canada“The whole of the Caribbean basically was participating, and even the Canadian people on a whole were supporting Buju.”
White also discussed the wider effects of bringing top-tier reggae artists to Toronto.
Events such as this are good for culture. He stated, “Toronto and Canada will support these events on a major scale.” Although Buju was the only performer, he added that more artists might have elevated the occasion to even greater heights.
White remarked, “Nothing was bad about the concert… the best part was just the salute to the crowd and the diversity in the crowd.”
The concert marked Buju’s much-anticipated return to Canada and served as a potent reminder of his appeal among the Caribbean diaspora. Leaving the arena with a sense of unity, energy, and pride, this was one of the most significant historical reggae concerts Toronto has witnessed for over a decade.
