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Several local LGBT groups including Equality Ohio and Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio have started a campaign to push for the cancellation of the upcoming Buju Banton show scheduled to take place at The LC on October 3rd. Messages from these groups have been re-posted on Facebook earlier today and are denouncing the reggae musician as homophobic for song lyrics that call for the murder of homosexuals. Some of the lyrics were also posted here on The Buckeye State Blog.
Update: 9/11/09 6:30PM – The show has been canceled.
Several venues in other cities have already canceled tour dates for Buju Banton, citing similar outcries from other LGBT groups and activists. Those canceled cities include San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Cincinnati, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Dallas and Houston.
Below is some additional information about the musician from a recent article in On Top Magazine:
In his native Jamaica, where being gay is punishable by 10 years in prison, anti-gay violence is rife and typically tolerated by the authorities. In 2004, Banton was tried and acquitted on charges that he participated in the beating of six gay men.
Both Equality Ohio and Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio are encouraging people to politely call or email Amy Cooper, The Marketing Director at PromoWest Promotions at 614-461-5483 or amy@promowestlive.com to expression their opinions on this scheduled event.
It’s not about avoiding his music, or not giving my money. It’s about letting this bigot in our country. He should be banned from entry into the U.S. Told to turn around and return to his ignorant, hateful, slum of a country. If you reap what you sow, then I hope there’s a warm welcome for him here.
Sherm, you’ve got to first understand the political and police situation in JA. There is a long explanation of why I say this that I’m not going to type here, mostly because I suck at typing and it’s almost time to leave work. Charged and convicted are two different things. Please, listen to some of his other music. I’m not defending the song lyrics, except to say that the song was written as his response to a molestation/murder in his neighborhood. As far as his attitude toward gays, well, I’m sorry, but that’s a cultural thing. It’s what he learned growing up in a country that does not look kindly to homosexuality. It’s easy to take one thing, or an attitude about one thing, and run with it for years. That’s why he says he’s :a war”. Even the unwilling can be at war and he has been drug around by this one song more than anything else. It’s got to be frustrating when everything else you do is all bunnies and flowers, but the one thing people want to focus on is the thorns.
And I tried your google search and this song, and the concert cancelling thing were the only negative I saw.
Here’s some of his other lyrics. The first one is a song against murder:
Murderer! Blood is on your shoulders
Kill I today you cannot kill I tommorow
Murder! Your insides must be hollow
How does it feel to take the life of another
Yes, you can hide from man but not your conscience
You eat the bread of sorrow
Drink the wine of violence
Allowed yourself to be conquered by the serpent
Why did you disobey the first commandment
Walk through the valley I fear no pestilence
God is my witness and He is my evidence
Lift up my eyes from wenth commeth help
You will never escape this judgement
Chorus
I tell you, all men are created equal
But behind the trigger its a different sequel
Some are murdering people just to collect medals
Stop commiting dirty acts for the high officials
You could wash your hands until you cant wash no more
Its like an epidemic and you won’t find a cure
Upper class you could be rich, middle class whether you are poor
Only the righteous won’t feel insecure
Have you ever thought about your skill getting bored
Chorus
Drinking sulphur bitters wont be bitter like your end
Only God can help you, no family or friend
Don’t let the curse be upon your children’s children
Abednigo, Shadreck, Meshek, Daniel in the den
Jonah in the whale’s belly, but he was never condemned
Job with the leprosy, and he still reached heaven
He will do for you everything He has done for them
How Could You
It is real, as real as it seem
Don’t you live on illusion
And don’t you ever try to live a dream
I sing…
Chorus
Buju say how could you rise up every living day
Telling yourself everything is OK
When you look at life you’ll see it slipping away
Lord knows who feels it every moment every day
Those why cry for the poor get neglected, rejected, put to death
How much more will we take?
Did you father work off his shirt, blood, sweat and tears
Don’t tell me that you forgot
Being oppressed by the oppressors, all different types of stress
For the sorrows of the poor, they don’t even care less
Refuse to deal with world atrocities, civil unrest
Instead they’re building penitentiaries as big as a bird’s nest
Saying we are to be blamed for whatever what mess
Chorus
Some say, how are you going? They want to know if we are mine
Not until we reposess what’s rightfully mine
Sitting down for so long we do belive it is time
Everyone is entitled to food at mealtime
‘Til then, we’ll struggle for rights, no more racial fights
Degradation to the highest heights
All obstacles as a people we have to cross
With health and strength we all can get across
Happenings of yesterday are just a thing of the past
Chorus
Don’t you cry little one, wipe your tears, sing my song
Though we’re in a strange land with evil ones
Help the weak if you’re strong, iron sharpens iron
When you’re down take a look at where the help is coming from
What about the masterminds with the foolproof plans
What about the geniuses who achieve grade one
Not an easy road
It’s not an easy road
Many see the glamour and the glitter
And think it’s a bed of rose
Who feels it knows
Lord help me sustain these blows
From the minute of birth you enter this earth
Obstacles in your way to overcome first
Throughout everyday they seem to get worse
Oh my God cast away this curse
Everybody is trying to make ends meet
Through every way the endeavor
Lord God you see it
No matter what the world may say on the street
Must have to survive, won’t accept defeat
Now I’m weary, tired and dreary
Got no time to waste
You know me
Chorus
By you rise to see the sun
Who you love a pull you down
Trying to discredit the works you have done
Some can’t satisfy with the past of ally
From the Scribes and Pharisees
You’ve got to stay wide
Hold up your head glancing on both side
Waiting anticipating praying for you to slide
Righteousness prevails with Jah by my side
Deliver Jonah from the whale
Never leave him to die
Help us all Abbaba Joni
Hold up my head and cry
Chorus
I’ve been travelling all morning
With such a heavy load
Now it’s noon and I cannot afford
To put down this burden alongside the road
I’ve got to hold it, got to humble myself
Like a child
Upon my face I’ve the got to put on a smile
Make up my mind just to walk more miles
Because I know that
Untold Stories
While I’m living
Thanks I’ll be giving
To the most high, you know
Chorus
I am living while I’m living to the father I will pray
Only He knows how we get through every day
With all the hike in the price
Arm and leg we have to pay
While our leaders play
All I see is people ripping and robbing and grabbing…
Thief never love to see a thief with a long bag,
No love for the people who are suffering real bad
Another toll to the poll may God help we soul
What is to stop the youths from getting out of control
Filled up with education yet don’t own a payroll
The clothes on my back has countless eye holes
Chorus
Could go on and on and full has never been told
Chorus
I say who can afford to run will run
But what about those who can’t…they will have to stay
Opportunity is a scarce commodity
In these times I say…when mama spend her last to send you to class…
Never you ever play
It’s a competitive world for low budget people
Spending a dime while earning a nickel
With no regards to who it may tickle
My cup is full to the brim
Chorus
Could go on and on the full has never been told
Through this life keep getting me down
Don’t give up now
Got to survive some way some how
Wanna be Loved
Wanna be loved
Not for who you think I am
Nor what you want me to be
Could you love me for me?
Real love, with no strings attached
I wanna give you me heart
Don’t want to take it back
This is my chat-cho
Been searching for a long long time
For that oh-so-true love
To comfort this heart of mine
No pretense stop wasting my time
A virtuous woman is really hard to find
I’m telling you lady
I’m only human, not looking for impossibility
Just a genuine woman with sincerity
Someone who is always near to hold me
Show me you care, up front and boldly
Don’t shun my feelings, all the positive meanings
Love me morning, noon all seasons
Chorus
Well every hoe have it’s stick in a bush
What happen to me…she must be somewhere out there
Now where could she be?
Caught up passionately in a love rhapsody
I’m like waiting on some honey
But there ain’t no queen bee
Everybody’s laughing
Some say I’m silly
No infatuation, no love fantasy
Woman you lead my life on a string
I can’t tale the on and off thing
I am oh so lonely inside so I sing
Chorus
I would spend my nights at home
But if it means contention
I’d rather be alone
Tell the service man cut the phones
Lock all communication
If there’s no light within my day
I’d rather stay in isolation
For that special someone a lifetime I’ll wait
I know that I’ll be okay
Cross my heart, every day I live I pray
And I know she’ll come my way
Night and day for this woman I pray
And these are some of his biggest songs. No hate to be found.
@ta-dow
Can we start kicking out our own bigots and hate mongers too? Should we do a tolerance test for everyone who enters our borders?
“JoshOSU75 Says:
September 15th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
If we don’t like the music then don’t listen to it??
In that case, I don’t agree with the KKK so I just won’t go to their rallies.
I also don’t agree with Westboro Baptist Church or Fred Phelps, so I just won’t attend their pickets of fallen soldiers.
”
Right now you are getting the idea!! If you don’t like it don’t go
I don’t like the KKK so I don’t go to their rallys. Etc etc
How hard is that?
So you’d be fine if the KKK rallied in your neighborhood, Miss Kitty? You’d just stay inside and keep quiet?
you are correct. I don’t like it so I would not attend the rally. I understand the thing called free speech. It’s like someone who don’t like Glenn Beck do you listen ? If you don’t like something then why show it interest? It seems pretty simple.
The fact that people can change says that maybe this guy has. Next someone will say people don’t change but that is not true at all. Let’s talk about some people who have changed Van-Jones from color of change was once a communist. He has since changed.
The president was a member of a church that was pretty narrow on it’s views yet he was able to denounce them after being a member for many years. That is change as well.
People change all the time I know a few people who were the worst of the worst and have changed to lead really great and honest lives. You also can’t blame a man from where he is from that would be like saying all people from West Africa to Ethiopia are monsters because female circumcision is practiced their. It’s like saying all people who listen to ICP or Black metal worship Satan. It’s generalizing and is pretty small minded as well as someone who was raised to belive something,
if the klan rallied in my neighborhood i think i would stay inside…..lol it would be a bloody battle out there.
I’d stay inside too…but I’d try to keep them from showing up in my ‘hood. Sounds like Miss Kitty would welcome them.
Miss Kitty, Banton has showed no signs of changing his views. I’m saying Banton is homophobic because he has said and done things that are very homophobic. So your comparison that people that listen to metal worship satan, that people from Africa are monsters because of female circumcision, etc…doesn’t make any sense. Because I’m not saying all of Jamaica is homophobic, I’m saying Banton is homophobic and thats why The LC cancelled him.
Members of Westboro Baptist Chuch have been banned from entering Canada for their hate speech. The kids in that group have been raised to believe something that is pretty dang scary…so I do feel sorry for them. But one would hope that they’d grow up, snap out of it, and realize their views are pretty effed up. In fact, some of Fred Phelps adult children have got away from him.
Same with Banton, he’s a grown man, so he should man-up and denounce any of his homophobic actions.
The amount of hate spewing from the LGBT group is painfully ironic. They want to be treated as equal and accepted for their views and lifestyle but are so steadfastly against someone with different views and lifestyle.
Telling and sad.
Hate towards Banton? Where? Just because we’re against his violent views? How many gays do you know that have called for the beating and killing of anyone? And by the way, shocking as it may be, straight people also requested his show to be cancelled.
What is telling and sad are your trite comments.
Your disdain of Banton comes from ignorance and presumption, as Greenhouse has repeatedly pointed out, yet you’ve refused to acknowledge it. So why should I bother?
What’s sad is a straight man has to point out your intolerance and lack of acceptance of another human being.
Open Letter From Tracii McGregor, President – Gargamel Music(New York, NY – 3, September 2009) Gargamel Music is pleased to confirm that four-time Grammy nominated Reggae artist and icon, Buju Banton will kick off his hotly anticipated Rasta Got Soul US Tour on September 12th in Philadelphia. We are disappointed by the hasty cancellation of a few shows by Live Nation/House of Blues and Goldenvoice/AEG, but fans will be happy to know we have over 30 confirmed shows that are definitely playing and we are working to replace the canceled dates. Now our team is primarily concerned with setting the record straight on the grossly inaccurate portrait of Buju being painted by certain organizations and systematically relayed to the masses and the media.
Now our team is primarily concerned with setting the record straight on the grossly inaccurate portrait of Buju being painted by certain organizations and systematically relayed to the masses and the media.
Buju Banton was all of 15-years-old when he wrote “Boom Bye Bye†in response to a widely publicized man/boy rape case in Jamaica. It was not a call to violence. The song was re-released on a popular dancehall rhythm in 1992 and caused a huge uproar after receiving commercial radio play in the States. Following much public debate back then, prominent gay rights leaders – and Buju decidedly moved on. For the record, it is the only song he ever made on the subject – and he does not perform it today.
Those who have followed Buju Banton’s musical journey and have actually listened to his extensive catalog, know of his development into a world-class singer, songwriter and performer who can quietly sell out such prestigious venues as the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York and Brixton Academy in London. He does not advocate violence. There has never been a shred of violence at any of his live shows. In fact, he commonly preaches against violence – against all people.
Buju’s consistently positive messages of peace, love and enlightenment have never been lost in the music. His 1995 Grammy-nominated album ‘Til Shiloh marked a spiritual and musical transformation that yielded the classic narratives “Untold Stories,†“Wanna Be Loved†and “Murderer,†which personified the horrific increase in gun crimes in Kingston’s inner city. His Grammy-nominated Inna Heights (1997) garnered him numerous comparisons to the late, great Bob Marley.
Long before Hollywood raised its collective consciousness about Darfur, there was Buju Banton wailing about the genocide happening in “Sudan†on 1999’s Unchained Spirit. His Friends For Life (2003) and Too Bad (2006) projects were both acknowledged with Grammy nods for Best Reggae Album. Buju’s latest Roots Reggae opus, Rasta Got Soul (2009), has already been welcomed with critical acclaim in the US, Europe and Japan.
The artist’s love for humanity is not just demonstrated in words but also in deeds. Twelve years ago he responded to the AIDS crisis in Jamaica by launching Operation Willy, an organization focused on raising monies for HIV positive babies and children who lost their parents to the disease. For three years he served as a celebrity spokesperson for Upliftment Jamaica, a US-based non-profit committed to working with underprivileged youth back home.
Yet none of these personal and professional accomplishments matter much to a gay lobby hell bent on destroying the livelihood of a man who has spent an entire career making amends — his way. Sadly, their 17 year fixation on waging war against one artist has prevented them from turning this initiative into a larger, more fruitful discussion that could perhaps effect real change.
WE SUPPORT BUJU BANTON!((Join the Facebook Group))Many thanks to the fans for standing in solidarity with Buju.
Gargamel Music, Inc.gargamelmusicinc@yahoo.com
Haha, my intolerance and lack of acceptance of another human being?
So the 2004 incident of Banton beating 6 men for being gay was just the gays fault? They deserved to be beaten because Banton was Jamaican and therefor was raised to be homophobic? The gays should have accepted the he was raised a certain way so they should just let Banton beat the shit out of them?
I read that open letter the day they released it (which makes me wonder why they didn’t release it when his first concert was cancelled) and it was good to hear the things Banton has done concerning AIDS babies.
The statement I find laughable is this…”Sadly, their (the gays) 17 year fixation on waging war against one artist has prevented them from turning this initiative into a larger, more fruitful discussion that could perhaps effect real change.”
Where is the attempt on BOTH sides to have this discussion? You’d think as the performer he’d have done something LLOONNGG ago.
“Banton was charged in connection with a 2004 incident in which he, as part of a group of about a dozen people, allegedly beat six men believed to be homosexuals, after forcing entry into a house in Kingston, near Banton’s recording studio. Charges against Banton were dismissed by the judge in the case in January, 2006, for lack of evidence.”
Stop ASSuming. You don’t know what Banton did, your ignorant assumptions are getting the best of you. I thought LGBT folks were opposed to people making ignorant assumptions.
Alright, guys. Keep it civil toward each other.
This is really the bigger issue. Even after reading all of the positive things Buju has done, reading (hopefully) the positivity in his lyrics since Boom Bye Bye was released, reading what the song was written in responce to (repeatedly), and being presented with the fact that he wasn’t involved with a crime he was accused of being in connection with (I guess your standards of evidence are higher than a court of law?), you still fixate on the same thing which, as I JUST mentioned he was not charged for, and use that to give the man a label. What’s your label, Josh? What was the one thing that you ever did that define who you are for the rest of your life, regardless of anything else you’ve done before or after that act? How strange it must be to live in a world where people are so easily judged and condemned.
The guy could have saved himself a lot of trouble (and money) by simply apologizing for his past words and actions. The fact that he won’t speaks more loudly than all his apologists combined.
Reggae show rescheduled
Friday, September 18, 2009 3:01 AM
BY KEVIN JOY
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
A Buju Banton concert canceled last week because of protests about a song with anti-gay lyrics has been rescheduled for another venue. The reggae singer will perform Oct. 2 at the Alrosa Villa, 5055 Sinclair Rd.
Rick Cautela, owner of the North Side venue, has hosted Banton several times without public complaint or unruly audiences. But the decision this time, he said, was tougher. “I have really, really lost a lot of sleep over this. I don’t want to offend anybody.”
READ MORE
@cookie
he HAS apologized, many, many times, plus more. Read the Open letter and it spells out the things he’s done to make amends.
Buju’s played Columbus several times, all without incident and, if memory serves me correct, without him performing the song in question. The first time he was here, it for Reggae Sunsplash, back in ’96 or ’96 in support of his ’til Shiloh album, which, by the way, was listed as one of Rolling Stones top 100 albums of all time. He’s also played Little Brothers, The Brickyard and the Alrosa, all without any kind of incident and, again, without the song.
I would again encourage people to do a little more digging into Buju’s music, even come see the show, and make your own judgement instead of being lead like sheep by those with their own agenda. As Public Enemy would say, “Don’t believe the hype”. Make your own judgement on the whole of what he’s done, not one song and one incident that he wasn’t even involved with.
“he HAS apologized, many, many times, plus more.”
Link?
That open letter lists things that he and/or his management seem to believe offset his homophobic words and actions, but I don’t really see how that “makes amends.”