Miami was the first stop for legendary Dancehall artist Buju Banton, who recently made his first visit to the United States since his release from a U.S. federal prison in 2018.
American producer DJ Khaled posted a video of himself and Buju Banton on Instagram, with the caption: “@bujubanton WELCOME FORWARD TO MIAMI it’s been 15 years since the ICON @bujubanton touched down in the 🇺🇸!”
“The Gargamel is back,” Buju Banton declared in the video.
“I wanna say nuff love to all my fans out there in all the other states of the United States. The Gargamel is back,” he added.
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He was later pictured in the recording studio with DJ Khaled.
The last time Buju Banton was in the US
Buju Banton had been in the United States in December 2009, when Drug Enforcement Administration agents remanded him to custody in Miami. He was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possession of more than five kilograms of cocaine.
Banton was then moved to the Pinellas County Jail where he remained until trial. A six-day trial in Tampa, Florida was declared a mistrial in September 2010, after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision.
He was allowed to perform one concert before his second trial, which was held in January 2011 to a sold-out crowd in Miami. A few weeks after the performance, Banton’s Before the Dawn album was announced as the winner of Best Reggae Album at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards.
In February 2011, Banton was found guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense, and using communication wires to facilitate a drug-trafficking offense. He was found not guilty on the charge of attempted possession of five kilograms or more of cocaine.
Four months later, he was sentenced to ten years and one month in a federal prison for the cocaine trafficking conviction. Banton was released on December 7, 2018, from McRae Correctional Institution in Georgia.
