7. Buju Banton, Voice of Jamaica (1993)
This was the first glimpse into Buju Banton’s evolution from a braggadocious, self-centered teenage dancehall star into an international artist. As Buju held firm to his dancehall roots with songs like “No Respect” and “Vigilante,” he also displayed his emerging social consciousness with songs like “Willie” and “Tribal War”; then showed his versatility, on his combination with Busta Rhymes on “Wicked Act.” Buju also recorded some serious Lovers Rock combinations with Wayne Wonder and Beres Hammond and what we now realize was a soliloquy, “Him Tek Off.” By the time his dancehall peers caught up to him as a deejay, he had already graduated to being a reggae artist with his next album, Til Shiloh.