Grammy Award-winning reggae icon Buju Banton has announced his 13th studio album, Too Too Bad, which is scheduled for release on July 17, just two days after his 53rd birthday.
The album’s title serves as a sequel of sorts to his 2006 project Too Bad, widely regarded as one of the greatest dancehall albums ever recorded and powered by the hit single “Driver A.”
Too Too Bad will mark Banton’s second release through VP Records, following 2003’s Friends For Life, a collaborative release between VP Records and Atlantic Records. That album peaked at No. 198 on the Billboard 200, No. 44 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, and No. 3 on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart.
Over the course of his celebrated career, Buju Banton has placed four albums on the Billboard 200: Voice of Jamaica (No. 159), ‘Til Shiloh (No. 148), Unchained Spirit (No. 128), and Friends For Life (No. 198).
His impact on the Billboard Reggae Albums chart has been even more significant, with 12 charting titles. Six of those releases reached the Top 10, including ‘Til Shiloh, Unchained Spirit, Rasta Got Soul, Before the Dawn, Upside Down 2020, and Friends For Life. His acclaimed 2006 album Too Bad peaked at No. 6 and spent 37 weeks on the chart.
Banton’s most recent studio album, Born For Greatness, released through Def Jam Recordings, Island Records, and Roc Nation, did not chart on either the Billboard 200 or Billboard Reggae Albums chart after selling 2600 units in streams and sales according to data received by WMV by sales tracker Luminate.
Of that amount 500 pure copies were sold and 2.2 million on-demand streams. It was the first time in 30 years that an album by Banton did not debut on the chart.
Likewise Banton has never charted on the US Billboard Hot 100 but in 2019 he tagged along on the DJ Khaled produced track Holy Mountain with
