Konshens Felt “Offended” When Buju Banton Said Vybz Kartel Was Still Running Dancehall From Prison

Dancehall star Konshens says he felt offended when Buju Banton said, according to him, that Vybz Kartel was the only artist ‘doing good’ and that the genre hadn’t grown over the last decade.

In a May 25 interview with Sound Chat Radio that touched on Dancehall and its alleged influence on crime, Konshens said “people like to highlight the negativity in Dancehall music and undermine the progress.”

“Me see a interview Buju say Vybz Kartel alone a duh good right now inna music. I was offended, yuh know a mean,” he said as he seemingly provided an example of negativity.

The interview referenced by Konshens was Buju Banton’s sitdown with Onstage host Winford Williams which took place at Gargamel Studios over one year ago, where he declared that Vybz Kartel was still running Dancehall from prison.

Banton, whose real name is Mark Myrie, had questioned why no Dancehall artists had stepped up to the task of growing the genre since Vybz Kartel cannot continue to do so from behind bars. While he acknowledged that Kartel’s lyrical content was sound, Banton questioned whether the Any Weather deejay’s music was still relevant and if so, why hasn’t it grown more around the world.

“Can we honestly say that our music has grown? Can we honestly ask that and say yes? Because me personally feel say it nuh grow”, Banton reasoned in the interview.

“Me come out ah work house (prison) and a Kartel me see run the place, same way. Me hear other people, don’t think me nuh hear and a listen but me know music when me hear music. His lyrical content, that’s not my subject. His relevancy, that’s my argument. That aside has he moved?”

Banton added, “Me nah seh, man [other Dancehall artists] nah do dem thing. But the music should have been out there more.”

However, in expressing his disappointment with Banton’s statements, Konshens named a few of his colleagues who he said ‘were doing the work.’

“You have Charly Black weh sell diamond, yuh have Popcaan a duh all a di collaboration dem, mi a duh collaboration with Chris Brown. Kranium sell gold, Gyptian sell gold. And then you watch one a our heroes a seh yow ‘one man alone a duh work.’”

“Nobody challenged it,” Konshens added. “It was a soundbite weh everybody run with and seh yes a ah true. That show you how society addicted to highlighting the negativity weh a gwan innna the music.”

Following the Onstage interview, Reggae star Protoje had sparked controversy with a tweet that called out artists who have been a part of Jamaica’s music industry for over ten years but have never assisted in the growth of another artist’s career.  Protoje contended that those artists cannot make comments about the current state of the industry.

“Personally no artist Wah in a the business over 10 years and don’t give another artist a platform or help buss somebody can’t say anything to me about the state of the industry,” Protoje wrote in the tweet, which was widely speculated to be aimed at Banton’s comments.

Several artists and fans came to Buju Banton’s defense after the tweet including Mr. Vegas, who quipped that “Rastaman shouldn’t throw shade“; Agent Sasco, who said he recorded his first single at Gargamel Studios; and Spragga Benz.

Listen to the Sound Chat Radio interview below.