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Buju Banton Goes Back to the Dancehall on Too Too Bad

His new album leans back into the harder dancehall sound he built his name on.

Sister Nancy

Too Too Bad

Back To The Original Gargamel Dancehall Sound.

Buju Banton turned 53 on July 15, and two days later, on July 17, 2026, he released his new album, Too Too Bad. The title winks at Too Bad, his 2006 dancehall album that gave us the Jamaican hit “Driver A”, and the music follows suit. Reggaeville reviewer Gardy Stein hears a return to dancehall’s golden days, in contrast to 2023’s Born For Greatness, which leaned on modern productions.


The Jamaica Observer reported that the album is out through Buju’s own Gargamel Music and VP Records, his first release on VP in 23 years, with 13 tracks on the digital edition and a 15-track CD with two bonus tracks. The tracklist includes DJ Khaled on “Wild Woman”, Ari Lennox on “Satisfy Me” and Gramps Morgan on “Power”.


Reggaeville points to “We Nuh Play” as the tone-setter: Jermaine Reid’s remake of the Diseases riddim, ridden in deep patois with that unmistakable growl. The same review notes that “X Rated” rides the viral WYFL riddim, and that the nostalgic cover was painted by sign-painter Bug.


The rollout started with “Butterflies”. The Source reported that the single was produced by Supa Dups, got a video shot in Miami and directed by Justice Silvera, and passed a million streams. The Jamaica Observer added that Billboard read it as a lovestruck track, and that when the album landed it debuted at No. 3 on the US iTunes chart.


A small footnote on the numbering. The Jamaica Observer calls Too Too Bad his 13th studio album, but Buju’s official site numbers Upside Down 2020 and Born For Greatness as his twelfth and thirteenth, which would make this the fourteenth. Sources count differently, so we won’t pick a number for you.


Since coming back to recording in 2018, Buju has stayed busy, and ReggaeVibe reported that he is also on the road this year on the Roots and Rhymes tour with Stephen Marley. His official site puts the mission of reggae simply: to “uplift, educate and eradicate negativity”. On Too Too Bad he pursues that in the dancehall, which is where it all started.


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A note on this article: This piece was researched and drafted with Funknuz AI, then edited, fact-checked, and finalized by our editorial team. All sourcing is linked above. AI can make mistakes, and so can we — if something reads off, that's on us, not the tech.

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