Despite his almost yearlong incarceration in the U.S., where he faces drug conspiracy charges, a new Buju Bantonalbum (his ninth studio album) will be released on September 28, 2010. Banton’s record label, Gargamel Music, announced this week that Banton’s 10-track “Before The Dawn” album will be released in North America on September 28, and in the U.K. and France on October 4.

According to Gargamel Music, “Before The Dawn” boasts some of the most powerful songs written by Banton since his professional entry into the music business almost twenty years ago. The songs were recorded at his own Gargamel Music studio before his arrest in December 2009, and despite his current incarceration, Buju reportedly had hands-on involvement in putting together this latest offering – from choosing the final track listing, and laboring over the phone with the producers and engineers to get the mixes just right, to conceptualizing the album’s packaging. Physical copies of the album will contain a special note written from inside the Pinellas County Jail in Clearwater, Florida, where Banton has been patiently awaiting trial for the past nine months.

Notably, the album’s unofficial anthem is track #10, “Innocent”, which will likely strike a highly personal chord that will resonate deeply with longtime fans.

Before The Dawn Track Listing
1. Rasta Can’t Go
2. In The Air
3. Do Good
4. Battered & Bruised
5. Bondage
6. Struggle Together
7. Life
8. No Smoking at All
9. Try Life
10. Innocent

Original article can be read here.