Buju collab would highlight my career – Romain Virgo

Romain Virgo has accomplished much in music since winning the 'Digicel Rising Stars' competition in 2007.

Aside from carving out a successful solo career, Virgo has collaborated with some of the biggest names on the local entertainment scene, including Agent Sasco, Christopher Martin, Konshens and Busy Signal.

But there are two artistes who the singer said he would love to work with in the future, and one of them is the Gargamel.

Speaking with THE STAR at the recent Long Walk to Freedom concert at the National Stadium, Virgo revealed how much of an influence Buju Banton has had on his life and said that working with the Destiny singer would be a dream come true.

"I would love that (a song with Buju). That's something that would make my entire career. There are few people that I still want to work with, and Buju Banton and Beres Hammond are two of the main ones," he said. "If I get to do something with Buju Banton, whoa! Trust me, I couldn't ask for anything more. And if me get all a song wid Beres, too, my career would be made. It would be a blessing."

Virgo, who was one of the headline acts at Saturday's show, said he has admired Banton for years. He said he has so much respect for him that he has tried to adopt some of Banton's attitude, particularly as it relates to live performances.

"Watching how he performs and seeing the things that he stands for has a real impact on my life and the way that I perform. I even perform some of his songs in my set sometimes, and that goes to show how important this human being is to me. To go an hour on stage is not easy, and so somebody who can do that is an amazing individual," he said. "I went to Penthouse ... which is the same place, basically, that he was recording with Donovan Germain, and I've worked with Donovan Germain, who was his main manager at the time. That's where my love and admiration for him is really coming from. Sometimes when I was there, I'd hear some of his old records or some of his unreleased music, and it was just amazing."

Virgo said Banton's legacy in Jamaica's music cannot be denied and said the turnout at the National Stadium was a testament to the Gargamel's quality of work.

"So many people came out, travelled from all over the world just to be here for the very first show. We will never see another moment like this, as powerful as this, and I'm grateful I got to be a part of it," he said.