Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton is currently behind bars in Miami, facing a federal drug charge, coming off good news of a Grammy nomination.
According to the Miami Herald, Buju (real name: Mark Anthony Myrie) has been in U.S. federal custody in Miami since Thursday (Dec. 10), after Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents charged him with possession and intent to distribute.
DEA spokesman David Melenkevitz told media over the weekend that the singer was arrested on a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, stemming from a DEA case in Tampa.
Stay tuned as this story develops.
Banton’s ninth album, Rasta Got Soul, is currently nominated for a Grammy.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation launched an online petition protesting the nomination recently, saying that his earlier lyrics have advocated violence against gay people, specifically on a track called “Boom Bye Bye.”
In September, reps for Buju Banton told the Herald that the criticism was not valid, because he had stopped performing the song all together.