CW25_What's your earliest music memory?

Her taste, he says, was all over the place, in the best way possible. RnB and Soul with Keith Sweat, Aaliyah, Lauryn Hill, and Boyz II Men. 60s and 70s Rock. Hip Hop. Pop. To Reggae and Dancehall classics from Shabba Ranks, Capleton, and Maxi Priest. And, of course, Afrobeat legend Fela Kuti, whose one-of-a-kind sound still amazes today.

So many of us carry these early music memories, so vivid they almost feel textured. For Philipp, these sounds feel ingrained in his DNA. They shaped not only his taste in music and curiosity in culture, but have brought him here, to COLORS — surrounded by people whose lives were changed by music at a young age, just like his was. You hear it in our offices and at our studios, often reaching back to those old tracks to set the mood. Those early influences never really leave us, do they?

One of those early influences, without question, is Buju Banton. A Jamaican superstar and pioneer in his own right. A cultural and musical reference for so many artists today, from Burna Boy and Vybz Kartel, to Rihanna and A$AP Rocky, basically anyone carrying Reggae or Dancehall in their DNA looks to Buju for inspiration.

So, a COLORS appearance from Buju Banton was nothing less than a full-circle moment for us. We're still sitting with some of the things he shared during our interview about the music he’s devoted more than 36 years of his life to:

"Before me, there were ones who bled and died on the battlefield without receiving any recognition for their work and dedication to the art form of reggae music." He said, discussing the deep roots of the genre: the suffering, the struggle, the voices that never got their flowers — this made it clear why he's still at it, which is why what he said next hit us just as hard: "Let us work, and when the work is completed, then we can move on to legacy.”

You might have already seen that Buju's second (!) COLORS SHOW went live this week. We're still processing it ourselves, and we’ve been going through your comments and couldn't help but screenshot a few to share below.

For Meesh, though, it went deeper than the moment itself. "Buju is such a figurehead in my home and my experience growing up as a child of Caribbean immigrants. Music was a huge part of our communal events. When our families came together, music always played in the background; reggae, dancehall, and rub-a-dub became the soundtrack of my life. And for Buju, he's a legend; my parents were listening to Buju, my grandparents were listening to Buju, I'm listening to Buju, and the generations to come will be listening to Buju. He’s a true generational talent, so when I heard what he said about legacy, I thought it was so interesting, because he's already created so much impact."

Hearing this got us thinking: we'd love to know​ yours too!