Africa Speaks Reasoning Forum

Buju Banton Under Investigation

World Entertainment News Network
August 25, 2004

Reggae dance hall star BUJU BANTON is under investigation in his native Jamaica, following allegations he was involved in a homophobic attack.

Last week (ends20AUG04), AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL confirmed reports that Banton, real name MARK MYRIE, was involved in the attack in the island's capital Kingston two months ago.

The organisation says, "We can confirm that Amnesty International has received information from reputable national and international human rights organisations concerning reports that Buju Banton was involved in a homophobic attack.

"These reports take the form of statements that allege that on 24 June 2004, six men were driven from their home and beaten by a group of armed men, and that the alleged assailants included Buju Banton."

The report says the attack was motivated by hatred of gay men, reports website ALLHIPHOP.COM.

Banton, who was recently banned in America following a conviction on marijuana charges, has branded the charges "completely untrue and wholly unfounded".

Banton's song BOOM BYE BYE is notorious for the violence it calls for against homosexuals. Banton has said he recorded the song in 1992 and has not made another song in that vein since. (RGS/WNWCAH/GES)


(c) 2004 World Entertainment News Network

http://www.africana.com/newswire/homepage_article.asp?ID=989

I saw Buju Banton the night that they started the Gulf War 2 bombing Iraq in 2003. The things he said when he got on stage and in between songs were right on point - he was obviously very disheartened and angry. The fact that he said such things to an American audience, being from another country, was very brave.

I'm sure the banning of him from the U.S. under the guise of a ganja offense has more to do with his viewpoint on such political matters than with anything else.

I agree Iyah360...I've seen him perform twice, and both times he made brave statements about the political goings on...I'm quite sure he is banned for "other" reasons than the ganja. Since when has the government cared about weed enough to bann someone?

I have to question this thing would Buju, not that I would put it past him, I don't know the man, but think about it, why would he involve in something like that knowing who he is and the situation right now with Tatchell and these guys trying to penalize Beenie, Elephant, Bounty, etc? The whole timing of this seems suspicious.
Like I said before as far as I concerned gay people can live their lives, me nuh have no problem with them, I only have problems with rapists child-molesters and exploiters regardless of their sexual orientation. But this guy Tatchell, assuming his motives are sincere, that he just want to defend gay people which I could understand especially since he himself is gay, anyway if his motives are sincere he is going about this the entirely wrong way, all he is doing is inciting an even bigger backlash against anyone who is gay or perceived to be gay, he is also creating a climate where it will be impossible for more reasonable people in the caribbean to voice their opinion on that issue, because if I say anything now like gays are human and have a right to live, something simple like that, I gone be painted as supporting this racist white man in his quest to destroy people's livelihoods. And yes I say racist cos why is he only focusing on Black people, like there are no anti-gay white people, what about Eminem, his little duet with Elton John was as patently insincere as Beenie Man's 'apology' for his 'execute the gays' lyrics, but Eminem is allowed to get away with it while Beenie is not let off the hook, apply your standards equally. Also this guy Tatchell is on record as saying that Zimbabawe is 'worse than apartheid', now you could be as against Mugabe as you want to be, I am no fan of Mugabe, but to say his regime is 'worse than apartheid' is a pretty clear indication that you are a RACIST.
Also how is this guy selecting the people he is going after, I could see Beenie cos of all the speculation that he's gay or bi himself, so he would make a natural target, but for instance, why is he picking on Bounty and Elephant Man in particular when there's so many other artistes talking about the same thing? Bounty isn't even that anti-gay as dj's go, if you check the song 'Look good' which Tatchell touts as epitomizing 'kill the gays' material, really it's only incidentally a dis to gays, what it really is is a dis to Beenie Man, and if you check the beginning you see how Bounty is implicitly defending Frankie Paul who everyone unofficially knows is gay ('You say you nah sing songs with Frankie Paul from dancehall, why not?') and attacking Beenie's back-and-forth hypocrisy on the issue ('yet you meet and greet and hug up and kiss up with Ru Paul'), it just shows Tatchell's ignorance of the whole culture, that he would pick that particular song to target.
And wuh happen to Sizzla Kalonji who shooting gays on every other song nowadays, maybe Tatchell afraid of him or something, cos he ain't getting mentioned.
A change in attitudes towards gay people is only going to come from within the society, it could never be imposed from outside. Tatchell just making it harder for those who would like to change attitudes from within. Also he ain't addressing the issue of WHY are there 'judgements' pon the 'battyman', nuh because there is all this pent-up anger and frustration due to the system, and the 'battyman' simply make the easiest targets, since people are taught a literalistic reading of the Bible and it say right deh fuh stone dem, and the beast dem ain't gone arrest people fuh it cos they feel the same way, but what about addressing the whole issue of what producing all that anger and frustration in the first place, POVERTY AND RACISM, well what is a privileged white man like Tatchell going to do to address those two issues there, that are the root of this problem and all the others?
Check it, there are dj's who really do not support violence against gays or anyone, who never make a song in support of it, now they gone be under pressure to, in 'defense' against this white man attacking 'we culture'.

P.S. For those who don't know, a 'judgement' is when people get together and beat down/murder someone perceived as a community enemy, usually someone perceived to be gay or perceived to be an informer. Now Prezident Brown got a lyric where he say in a kind of an implicitly disapproving way 'whole heap a masculine nuh want no feminine friend, whole heap a feminine nuh want no masculine friend', but then he goes on, 'but I come to teach, I don't come to judge men, at the right time we will see who get condemn', well if you know the lingo, you would see he is talking against these judgements, but Tatchell and other people who don't know the lingo, would probably just look at them lyrics and say he is 'homophobic' when in reality he almost going out on a limb by even talking against these judgements, cos there is nuff unreasonable people who would want to label him a anti-man himself, just for saying that.
I know I am far from the only rastaman who feels that gay people at the very least are human beings with the right to live, plenty I know feel that way, at least in Guyana me ain know bout Jamaica. Me uncle feel that way, nuff idrens I know feel that way, man like Benjamin Zephaniah feel that way and all these people working quietly to change these attitudes, not to convince people to accept gays cos just like there always have been and always will be so-called 'gay' people, there always have been and always will be people who feel it's unnatural and wouldn't want to mingle with them, the work on this issue is to make people see that because you disagree with a behavior, does not mean you have the right to take someone's life who exhibits that behavior, you ONLY EVER have the right to take another's life in self-defense, now all that quiet work behind the scenes, which would help people who are perceived to be gay who stay in the ghetto in the caribbean, not in a nice house in London with a police escort, all that work would be jeapoardized because some white man with no understanding of the culture want to run into things like a bull in a china shop.