Voice of Jamaica

Voice of Jamaica is the third studio album by Jamaican dancehall reggae artist Buju Banton. It was released on August 3, 1993 via Mercury Records/PolyGram and was his international debut. Its remastered and expanded edition was released in 2002 with additional tracks. Recorded in Kingston and New York City, the album is considered to be the one that introduced Banton to the world outside Jamaica, also bringing dancehall to the wider world.^[2][3]

Voice of Jamaica
Studio album by Buju Banton
Released	August 3, 1993 (1993-08-03)
Studio	Chung King Recording Studio, New York City Digital B Studios, Kingston, Jamaica Mixing Lab Studios, Kingston, Jamaica Music Works #2, Kingston, Jamaica Penthouse Recording Studio, Kingston, Jamaica[1]
Genre	Dancehall ragga hip hop R&B[1]
Length	61:40
Label	Mercury/PolyGram
Producer	Donovan Germain Bobby "Digital" Dixon Busta Rhymes Dave Kelly Mikey Bennett Sly Dunbar Steely & Clevie
Buju Banton chronology
Mr. Mention (1992) Voice of Jamaica (1993) 'Til Shiloh (1995)
Singles from Voice of Jamaica
"Operation Ardent" Released: April 26, 1993 "Deportees (Things Change)" Released: July 6, 1993 "Make My Day" Released: August 2, 1993

Production was handled by Donovan Germain, Steely & Clevie, Dave Kelly, Bobby "Digital" Dixon, Busta Rhymes, Mikey Bennett and Sly Dunbar. It features guest appearances from Beres Hammond, Brian and Tony Gold, Busta Rhymes, Terry Ganzie, Tony Rebel and Wayne Wonder. The album peaked at number 159 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in the United States.

Music and lyrics

Musically the album shows a wide range of reggae music, with rhythms that vary from mainly hardcore dancehall, to roots reggae, R&B and ragga hip hop.^[1]

Lyrically it faces various personal, political, and cultural themes, including love, war, violence, police brutality, safe sex, poverty and spirituality.^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Entertainment Weekly	C+[4]
Robert Christgau	[5]
Rolling Stone	[6]

Jo-Ann Greene of AllMusic said that "This is the kind of album that leaves the listener breathless with amazement", also stating that "It's a superb album, and deserved every accolade it received.^[1]

Track listing

Voice of Jamaica track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Searching"	Mark Myrie Von Wayne Charles Lowell Fillmore Dunbar David Kelly	Sly Dunbar	4:14
2.	"Red Rose"	Myrie Donovan Germain Dunbar Haldane Browne	Donovan Germain	3:55
3.	"Commitment" (featuring Wayne Wonder)	Myrie Charles Kelly	Dave Kelly	3:18
4.	"Deportees (Things Change)"	Myrie Charles Germain Kelly	Donovan Germain	3:54
5.	"No Respect"	Myrie Cleveland Browne Wycliffe Johnson	Steely & Clevie	3:59
6.	"If Loving Was a Crime" (featuring Brian and Tony Gold)	Myrie Michael Vincent Bennett	Mikey Bennett	4:53
7.	"Good Body"	Myrie Harry A. Mudie	Bobby "Digital" Dixon	3:52
8.	"Wicked Act" (featuring Busta Rhymes)	Myrie Trevor Smith	Busta Rhymes	3:52
9.	"Tribal War" (featuring Tony Rebel and Terry Ganzie)	Myrie Patrick Barrett Terry Ganzie Earl Lowe	Donovan Germain	3:48
10.	"A Little More Time" (featuring Beres Hammond)	Myrie Beres Hammond David Heywood Leroy Heywood	Donovan Germain	3:53
11.	"Him Take Off"	Myrie C. Browne Johnson	Steely & Clevie	3:38
12.	"Willy (Don't Be Silly)"	Myrie Dunbar	Donovan Germain	4:54
13.	"Gone a Lead"	Myrie C. Browne Johnson	Steely & Clevie	3:41
14.	"Make My Day"	Myrie Kelly	Dave Kelly	5:05
15.	"Operation Ardent"	Myrie Germain Dunbar H. Browne	Donovan Germain	3:54
Total length:				61:40

2002 re-release bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
16.	"Vigilante"	Myrie Clemente Dodd	4:01
17.	"Deportees (Things Change)" (Tan So Back Haul Up Mix)	Myrie Charles Germain Kelly	4:01
Total length:			68:52

Charts

Chart performance for Voice of Jamaica

Chart (1993–1994)	Peak position
US Billboard 200[7]	159
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[8]	29
US Reggae Albums (Billboard)[9]	6
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[10]	5