Listen to it loud. Listen to it on a good sound system. And as Buju says on the closing track “Hail the King”: “Though the journey gets rough / Inna heights, we find the love.”
In the turbulent timeline of dancehall and reggae, few albums carry the weight of prophecy and redemption quite like Buju Banton’s ‘Inna Heights’ . Released in 2007, the album arrived as a shockwave to a genre that had largely forgotten its own foundation. Now, with the release of the 10th Anniversary Edition , we revisit the masterpiece that transformed a dancehall enfant terrible into a roots-reggae lion. To understand the impact of ‘Inna Heights’ , one must remember where Buju Banton stood in the early 2000s. The man born Mark Myrie was the teenage titan who dominated the 1990s with frenetic, violent, and sexually explicit dancehall anthems like “Boom Bye Bye” and “Batty Rider.” He was the champion of the rub-a-dub and ragga era. But by 2006, Buju was a soul in crisis. Buju.Banton-Inna.Heights.-10th.Anniversary.Edit...
The original is a celebration of Kingston’s gritty magic. The anniversary dub removes the vocals for the first verse, leaving only the echo of Buju’s ad-libs and a swirling melodica. It’s hypnotic and heartbreaking—a ghost track that foreshadows the legal troubles that would soon engulf the artist. The Legacy: A Blueprint for Redemption ‘Inna Heights’ did more than revive Buju Banton’s career. It opened the floodgates for the “roots revival” that followed in the 2010s. Artists like Chronixx, Protoje, and Kabaka Pyramid have all cited this album as the moment dancehall youth realized that Rastafari consciousness and modern swagger could coexist. Listen to it loud
Release Date: October 9, 2007 (Original) / November 24, 2017 (Anniversary Edition) Stream the restored album and live sessions on all major platforms. Vinyl reissue available via VP Records/Gargamel Music. Released in 2007, the album arrived as a
By: [Staff Writer] Published: April 17, 2026 (Retrospective feature on the 2007 release)
The closest the album comes to a crossover hit. A deceptively simple metaphor: life as a journey in a taxi. Buju plays both the passenger and the driver, pleading for guidance. The hook—”Driver, driver, carry me home”—became a street anthem, proving that roots reggae could still move the masses.