BUSY SIGNAL
 His name speaks for itself! One of the busiest artists in the newly evolved worldwide Reggae Dancehall scene, sending out a signal to all other artists that when Busy gets busy on a riddim, there is no one quite like him. He’s a leading light of the contemporary yet poetic Rapper style artists emerging out of Jamaica since 2004 when King Jammy’s protégés Ward 21 made their presence felt in Reggae music with the immediately infectious anthem ‘Bloodstain’.
Busy (real name Reanno Gordon) had stepped onto the scene back in 2005 with his first hit single ‘Step Out’ which was easily one the most popular songs of the year, not just in Dancehall circles. This track crossed boundaries and won many fans for the yet unknown artist. The music video that followed resulted in Busy gaining an even larger fan-base and visual presence. That early momentum hasn’t slowed as Busy maintains to live up to his intriguing stage name, given to him because of his unique ability to be in two places at once.
Raised in St. Ann’s Bay, Busy moved to the Standpipe, Papine area of Kingston as a teenager where, he honed his talent as an artist. He is renowned now as an artist who’s able to deal with changing trends, sitting comfortably on high octane party tracks like ‘Wine Pon Di Edge’ and ‘Tic Toc’ to the highly acclaimed and conscious ‘Unknown Number’, ‘Jail’ and ‘These Are The Days’. The two latter tracks have propelled Busy into becoming one of the key mouthpieces for today’s disgruntled youth, not just in Jamaica but, further afield in the UK’s inner city areas, parts of the US, Canada and beyond. ‘Tic Toc’ has more of a commercial Hip-hop/Pop appeal designed more for the dance floors of Miami or Atlanta than the purist dance halls of Kingston but, that is by no means a bad thing as, for me, this track best illustrates Busy’s diversity, lyrical content and mind blowing delivery.
 Collaborations have come thick and fast with the cream of the Reggae scene from musical royalty Marcia Griffiths, Morgan Heritage and Mykal Rose to Dancehall favourites Bounti Killa, Demarco and Mavado. Often compared to Vybz Kartel, for his exceptional lyrical prowess, the debate continues between ardent fans as to ‘who is actually the better artist?’ From my own experience and a relatively large circle, the opinion is varied but, more importantly, it’s split right down the middle which, is testament to how quickly Busy has generated respect in the industry. His story is similar to those often told by many of this generation’s artists who have honed their talents through the guidance and tutelage of one of Dancehall’s greats, ‘the mighty’ Bounti Killa as part of the infamous ‘Alliance’ crew. Over the last eight years, Bounti has brought us the talents of Scare Dem Crew, Elephant Man, Wayne Marshall, Bling Dawg, Vybz Kartel and Mavado.
Busy is amazingly still only in his early twenties with a back catalogue most artists would savour. He has released two studio albums to date, ‘Step Out’ (2006) and more recently ‘Loaded’ in 2008. Busy’s range and artistry was once again proven on the highly anticipated and well received sophomore effort which, since its release, has not only been on heavy rotation in my car but, across airwaves around the globe. With all his attributes in tow, he has the potential to be one the all time greats of Reggae Dancehall… younger fans might say ‘he already is!’ You decide..... Asha
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