Buju Banton Is On Kanye West’s Album After All

Buju Banton is on Kanye West’s Donda album after all.

Many people were expecting to hear a Buju Banton verse on Donda at the album’s three listening sessions. Although the song was not heard then, and we had reported that it won’t be on the album, it appears on the final product as track 10, Believe What I Say, with a coy Lauryn Hill sample.

Shenseea appears on the album, as well, in two songs, namely Pure Souls with Roddy Rich, and Ok Ok Pt. 2.

The anticipation for West’s tenth studio album has attracted media attention from all over the world as he spent two weeks living in a stadium in preparation for the release. Even after the release today the unpredictable West posted on his Instagram “Universal put my album out without my approval and they blocked jail 2 from being on the album”. Jail 2 is a track featuring rapper Da Baby, who has been removed from several concerts following his controversial remarks at Rolling Loud Festival in Miami.

Banton’s feature on Believe What I Say is a love song where the Reggae/Dancehall star revisits his crooning roots.  He seems to be playing the voice of a relationship GURU on a song that is certain to send tongues wagging as West and his wife Kim Kardashian are reportedly in a period of separation, while trying to get back together. She made an appearance at his Chicago listening party dressed in a wedding gown.

On the track Ye sings the hook “don’t let the lifestyle drag you down”, then he raps about a relationship gone sour due to an overly needy spouse. “Celebrity Drama that only Brad will know/too many family secrets somebody passing notes/things I cried about I find laughable”.

On Buju’s verse he recites prose to a distrusting lover, “You were so easily fooled and easily deceived by some dude who is more rather into greed?/played by your emotions you were swamped by your needs…you said that I lie how did I? I told you everything, didn’t I/ but you just could not believe”.

Over the years, West has used dancehall and reggae music as inspiration to make some of his biggest hits including “Dust A Sound Boy” by Super Beagle and Reggie Stepper “Cu Unuh” with vocals from the late Fuzzy Jones for his Grammy-nominated hit Mercy.

Kanye had visited Jamaica last year visited Plantation SmokeHouse in Ocho Rios and was seen in the studio with Buju Banton along with Rocafella records co-founder Kareem “Biggs” Burke. The Billionaire Yeezy founder also teamed up with the Buju Banton Foundation to donate computers and chairs to the Sunbeam Children’s Home and the Mount Oliver Boys Home in Jamaica.

This is Kanye’s most collaborative album with 53% of the vocals coming from features. The album is now No. 1 on iTunes and is projected to debut at number 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart although it was released three days after MRC Data’s music cycle.