Buju Banton, Mavado Appear To Endorse The PNP Ahead Of Wednesday’s General Election

Reggae superstar Buju Banton provoked a firestorm of criticism on social media after he appeared to endorse the opposition party, the People’s National Party (PNP), ahead of Wednesday’s General Election in Jamaica.

Banton deejayed a biting song where he critiqued the current state of wages, before seemingly declaring his support for the PNP.

“Tell me if yu happy with this high cost of living…no no no…people are you happy with the wages dem giving? No, no, no, no. Tell me if you’re happy with this high rise in crime, dem waan tief every penny and yu don’t get a dime, no, no no no,” he said, before endorsing the PNP.

The Til Shiloh artist closed his ditty by singing the line : “Be brave enough to tell dem time come” which appeared to echo the tagline of the PNP’s current political campaign.

The video was also captioned “A dat mi say… no, no, no, no, Time Reach.”

Buju Banton was immediately hit with a torrent of vitriolic comments.

“Buju yu coulda sing like humming bird, a right beside the bell me x aguh!” one declared.

Another said: ‘where do you see high crime.Where do you live Buju? Yu hardly in Jamaica, gwaan go make a new song”.

Another chimed in: “A who him again? Non-progressive element.”

Others accused him of being cocky and “acting like the Jay Z of Jamaica”.

On Friday, dancehall star Mavado waded into the political waters when he shared an image from a viral clip on his Instagram Friday morning, captioning it, “If I send you this it means I’m a born Jamaican and I’m coming home,” he said.

The God Nah Sleep singer tagged the opposition leader in the post which was made in the wake of the highly anticipated leadership debate on Thursday, August 28, between Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Mark Golding.

In his post, Mavado was referencing one of standout moments of the debate when Golding pulled out his birth certificate on live television, in response to to Holness’ ribbing and a loaded ‘Are you truly a Jamaican?’ question regarding the authenticity about his Jamaican identity.

For years, Mavado has been unable to return to Jamaica because the police have purported that there are active warrants for his arrest in the island.

Since that time, that moment has inspired a popular series of memes surrounding the Prime Minister’s unfortunate ‘being born in Jamaica doesm’t make you Jamaican’ comment.