Banton is scheduled to perform Wednesday at House of Blues, and two gay-rights organizations, Gay Liberation Network and Black LGBT & Allies for Equality, have planned to protest the show.

"This is the fourth performer in four years that House of Blues has scheduled that's from this new reggae genre called Dancehall," said GLN's Bob Schwartz. "These are Jamaican singers who have published songs that in very explicit ways call for the killing of lesbian and gay people."

In July the same organizations protested rapper DMX's performance at House of Blues. Two years prior, GLN protested the House of Blues Chicago performance of another rapper, Capleton,leading to the cancellation of subsequent performances at House of Blues outlets in Los Angeles and New Orleans. That same year, the group's efforts led to R.J. Reynolds' pulling tour sponsorship for Beenie Man, spurring the cancellation of several tour dates nationwide, including one at Chicago's House of Blues.

"Two years ago we made numerous efforts to contact [House of Blues.] ... We were rebuffed; they absolutely refused to meet with us, to talk about the issues," Schwartz said.

CHICAGO - Gay rights activists are applauding the September 13th decision of a Bloomington, IN nightclub to cancel the scheduled September 14th performance of Buju Banton, a dancehall musician who has become infamous in some circles for his graphic advocacy of murdering gays. In his song "Boom, Bye Bye," for example, Banton urges people to shoot gay men in the head, pour acid over them, and burn them alive.

Gay rights activist Morgan Tilleman of the Hoosier Rights Campaign reports that the manager of "The Blue Bird" Club in Bloomington said that he had not heard of the controversy about Banton until news reached him of the pending protest in Chicago, and that it was in response to community concerns about Banton's advocacy of violence against gays that he cancelled the performance just 24 hours before it was to have taken place.

LGBT campaigners have again demanded the cancellation of a concert due to be held this Wednesday at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colorado.

Activists say the Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton hasn't repudiated a 1992 song that calls for violence against gays and lesbians, reports Rocky Mountain News.

A representative for Banton said that Boom Bye Bye, part of a reggae genre dubbed "murder music," was written when Banton was 15 and that the star has since become one of Jamaica's most prominent AIDS activists. Tracii McGregor, vice president of Banton's label, said in a statement that the song has since "haunted his career."

As of Tuesday afternoon, Banton was still on the bill, employees said, though two sponsors had pulled their support of the show.

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The activists also alerted the concert's sponsors, Wahoo's Fish Tacos and the Boulder Weekly, of Banton's homophobia. Both withdrew their sponsorship.

"To their great credit, Wahoo's Fish Tacos and the Boulder Weekly have acted promptly and efficaciously in light of troubling new information," said Mills in the statement. "Their response shows them to be true friends of the LGBT community."

Boulder Pride is organizing a protest outside the Fox Theater starting at 8PM on Wednesday, preceded at 6:30PM by a sign-making event open to all participants at Boulder Pride's offices at 2132 14th Street.

Boulder Pride calls for cancellation of violently anti-gay artist's concert

Boulder, Colo., September 18, 2006 - Boulder Pride today called for the Fox Theatre in Boulder to cancel a concert scheduled for this Wednesday, September 20, by gay-hating reggae artist Buju Banton. Banton is notorious for his violently anti-gay lyrics, and himself recently faced criminal charges for a violent attack on gay men in Kingston, Jamaica. Banton pioneered the current spate of Jamaican reggae's anti-gay "murder music" with his 1992 song "Boom Bye Bye", which advocates shooting gay men in the head and burning them alive.

The rise of "murder music" has been accompanied by anti-gay violence in Jamaica, including the murder by machete of the island nation's leading gay rights advocate, Brian Williamson, in his home in 2004. Banton himself was among a dozen men criminally charged with beating six gay men, two of whom had to be hospitalized, on June 24, 2004. Although a warrant was issued for Banton's arrest immediately, police did not arrest him for 15 months. His acquittal in January amidst questions about the thoroughness of the police investigation provoked further distress among Jamaica's gay and lesbian residents, some of whom have sought asylum in the UK. Gay Jamaicans still face prosecution under the nation's 1864 anti-"buggery" law.

Boulder is still reeling from an attack on a gay man circulating petitions in support of domestic partnerships on Pearl Street in late July. "Our community will not tolerate this type of violent hate speech celebrated onstage," said Boulder Pride's Interim Executive Director Michael Mills. "We are deeply concerned that the Fox Theatre is providing a forum for this hateful anti-gay artist despite strong community revulsion to his message."

"Although the Fox Theatre claims no prior knowledge of this artist's violent actions and words towards LGBTQ people, there is no excuse for this show to continue," added Sonya Lewis, Boulder Pride President. "Other businesses around the country have had the guts to stand against hate but I guess the Fox Theatre does not." Just last week, community concerns prompted a club in Indiana to cancel a Banton concert scheduled for September 14.

Boulder Pride learned of Buju Banton's concert over the weekend and immediately alerted the Fox Theatre's general manager as well as the show's sponsors to community concerns. Both sponsors, Wahoo's Fish Tacos and the Boulder Weekly, immediately withdrew their sponsorship of the event, and expressed great shock at the information provided by Boulder Pride. Both sponsors were completely unaware of Banton's anti-gay history.

"To their great credit, Wahoo's Fish Tacos and the Boulder Weekly have acted promptly and efficaciously in light of troubling new information," said Mills. "Their response shows them to be true friends of the LBGT community."

Boulder Pride has spoken with Fox Theatre General Manager John Caprio, who intends to go ahead with Wednesday's concert. Boulder Pride is organizing a protest outside the Fox Theatre starting at 8PM. Further details will be posted on www.boulderpride.org

Boulder Pride is Boulder County's largest advocacy group for the lesbian, bisexual, gay, and transgender (LBGT) community.

Buju Banton, who performed earlier this year at UCLA’s Jazz and Reggae Festival without so much as an objection, is set to perform October 3rd at the Highlands Nightclub in Hollywood. The concert is promoted by Jamaica Gold.

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Well he wasn’t down for long because Beenie Man is currently scheduled to perform on October 22nd (my birthday) here in Los Angeles at the Century Club in Century City.

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With the continued violence against lesbians and gays in Jamaica and the hate crimes here in America, artists like Beenie Man and Buju Banton should not be allowed to perform anywhere as far as I am concerned until they publicly disavow their previous songs calling for the murder of gays. Plain and simple, if this was a punk rock band who had once called for Blacks to be hanged in one of their songs, this wouldn’t even be an issue. You’d have the NAACP, the SCLC, and every other Black civil rights group in America demanding that their shows be cancelled. This is no different.

In case you need proof that Buju Banton is still enthusiastically performing the song “Boom Bye Bye” here in the States, here is a clip of him leading an audience sing-along at the May 29, 2006 Miami Memorial Fest concert. Please note this was AFTER the UCLA gig where his management stated he wasn’t performing the song anymore.

Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender bloggers have done it again.

A controversial concert scheduled in Los Angeles for October 3 that featured homophobic reggae artist Buju Banton was officially cancelled by the venue’s management after an email campaign was initiated. (See L.A. Times Story)

In less than 24 hours after the campaign was started, the assistant general manager of the Highlands Nightclub in Hollywood Adam Manacker sent out an email stating that he was not aware of Buju Banton's lyrics or his anti-gay sentiment until he started getting e-mails. His email goes on to say, “I have since done some research and have decided to cancel the show. I apologize on behalf of myself and the Highlands.”

Thank you to everyone who called, emailed, and faxed letters requesting the cancellation of this concert, but the battle isn’t over.

Beenie Man is still scheduled to perform on Sunday, October 22, 2006 at the Century Club.

Contact the General Manager of the Century Club

Not to be outdone by Buju Banton and Beenie Man, a popular French dancehall singer named Krys has recorded a song called “McDoom Dead,” which encourages people to kill and burn Vincent McDoom, a real life black gay TV personality in France. “Burn all bisexuals, transsexuals, homosexuals and transvestites," the song says. "They make me allergic. Now, that’s enough! Gay people stink! I want to kill them with my music. I don’t want to deal with Vincent McDoom, I just want to shoot him, klik klak boom!”

The subject of the attack, Vincent McDoom, has received death threats as a result of the song, according to BabyBoy magazine. But Krys has largely escaped criticism, until recently.

"The artistes earn the bulk of their money from live performances and if you have a group of people fighting that and successfully cancel like a Buju show, a Beenie or Capleton show, then where is it going to stop? The way I see it is that it affects the livelihood of an artiste; it is being interfered with by a certain group of people. The artistes are not attacking anyone who are gay and lesbian, they are not giving people guns and saying go kill them. The only thing that artistes can do is stand up for their own rights and probably rethink the type of lyrics they use, but I am not saying that they should deny themselves the freedom of speech," she said.

In Brighton, Concorde 2 claims that it still booked Buju Banton to perform in complete innocence - mainly due to the fact the same artist performed at the venue three years ago without any opposition. The venue’s owner Tina Haynes told PinkNews that she was confused why there has been such a response at this booking, saying: “not much has changed within the LGBT community over the last three years, has it?” What has changed is that the campaign group OUTRage! has brought the whole issue of ‘murder music’ to everyone’s attention in the last three years.

the manager of "The Blue Bird" Club in Bloomington said that he had not heard of the controversy about Banton until news reached him of the pending protest in Chicago

In less than 24 hours after the campaign was started, the assistant general manager of the Highlands Nightclub in Hollywood Adam Manacker sent out an email stating that he was not aware of Buju Banton's lyrics or his anti-gay sentiment until he started getting e-mails.

Security officials on the island of St. Lucia [url=]http://www.radiojamaica.com/news/story.php?category=6&story=34842]have been asked[/url] to ban the popular Jamaican reggae performer Sizzla who is booked to perform on May 5th. Radio Jamaica reports the director of the St. Lucia-based Caribbean Drug Abuse Research Institute asked the police commissioner to stop the performance due to Sizzla's violent and anti-gay lyrics.

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In what may be a new strategy toward banning similar performances, Dr. Marcus Day called on the police to warn the promoters and producers of the show that they might be "guilty of aiding and abetting criminal offences" by giving a platform to Sizzla.

"This guy should not be allowed to enter St. Lucia as far as I am concerned. These guys who sing this kind of crap should learn that if they want to do that in Jamaica and the Jamaica Government does not want to do anything about it, that's fine; but when they come out in the real world where people are supposed to be civilised then that stuff doesn't cut."

LONDON, June 13, 2007 – Three of the world’s top reggae/dancehall singers have renounced homophobia and condemned violence against lesbians and gay men.

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In this declaration the artists promise to not sing lyrics or make public statements, in Jamaica or anywhere else in the world, that incite prejudice, hatred or violence against lesbian and gay people.

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“As a result of them signing this statement, for a trial period we are suspending the campaign against these three performers. If they abide by the agreement we will make this suspension permanent.

“The other five murder music artists – Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killa, Vybz Kartel and Buju Banton – have not signed the Reggae Compassionate Act. The campaign against them continues,” Mr. Tatchell said.

“These singers have incited the murder of lesbians and gays. They should not be rewarded with concerts or sponsorship deals.

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The Reggae Compassionate Act was negotiated by Eddie Brown of Pride Music UK, with the support of the promoters Michel Jovanovic (Mediacom France), Klaus Maack (Contour Germany), Peter Senders (Panic Productions Holland), Fabrizio Pompeo (Tour de Force Italy), Julian Garcia (Roots and Vibes Spain) and Tim Badejo (Dubble Bubble Scandinavia).

“We hope it is not commercially motivated by the singers’ desire to maintain their concert revenues, but a sincere commitment that will encourage an end to homophobic violence and to all violence against everyone."

Beenie Man explained that the Reggae Compassionate Act to which Outrage referred, was brokered by European promoters under fire from gay rights groups furious that they continued to support certain Reggae acts whose lyrics incited violence against homosexuals.

"It's a ting from the promoters of Europe. They are getting so much fight from the Christian and "g" organisation and everything," said the self-proclaimed 'King of the Dancehall', who apparently could not bring himself to say the word gay.

At the same time, the deejay said he did not personally sign any agreement and could not promise that he would be abiding by it. "I do music," he argued. "Dancehall mi do, I can't promise nuh man dat. And mi neva sign it, yuh hear sah."

MURDER MUSIC: TWO-FACED REGGAE STARS SIGN, THEN RENEG ON, PLEDGE TO STOP HATE SONGS

Two Jamaican reggae stars want to have it both ways: they've signed a pledge to put an end to their songs calling for the murder of gays and lesbians -- and thus halt a successful boycott of their hate music -- but back home in Jamaica (one of the world's most culturally homophobic countries) they're trying to pretend they didn't sign the pledge.
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n a note to editors accompanying its press release on Banton's signing of the RCA, the Stop Murder Music campaign asked, "To test the singers' sincerity, we urge you to assign your journalists to interview them to make sure they personally confirm their commitment to renounce and oppose homophobia." In view of the reported denials in Jamaica, it looks like that was a wise precaution.

A key figure in the SMM campaign, Brett Lock (left) of OutRage!, said: ""We have never accepted any agreement whereby an artist agrees to not perform homophobic lyrics at concerts in Europe and the US, but continues performing them in the Caribbean. The idea that these singers can incite the murder of gay people in Jamaica and then come to Europe and be accepted as legitimate artists is morally sick and indefensible. The only agreement we will accept is an agreement that they will not incite homophobic hatred and violence - in lyrics or in public statements - anywhere in the world, including Jamaica. This is what the Reggae Compassionate Act says, and this is the pledge made by the four singers who have signed it."

After several days of intensive discussions among all of these parties, Team Legendary's Alfonso Brooks has made a verbal commitment to press both Banton and Bounty to comply with a key demand not only of Milano and the Queer Justice League here in New York, but also of the international Stop Murder Music campaign - that they sign and publicly state their willingness to abide by the Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA), a document by which other artists have pledged to refrain from making homophobic statements in public, releasing new homophobic songs, or authorizing the re-release of previously-recorded hate-gays music.

According to both Milano and Colin Casey in Duane's office, Brooks voiced confidence that the two artists would sign on to the agreement. But in a telephone interview on the evening of August 8, he conceded that he had not yet been able to discuss the matter with Banton and his management and had heard resistance from Bounty.

"They don't think I should be concerned," Brooks said of preliminary reaction from Bounty's camp. The promoter explained that his contract with artists includes a strict code of conduct on matters ranging from alcohol use to any offensive language aimed at specific communities. Bounty's representative told Brooks that the performer has always abided by that code in the past, and would refrain from performing hate songs at Randall's Island.

When longtime New York activist Mark Milano last week noticed a subway poster for the Randall's Island event listing the two among those performing, he immediately sounded a call for action. At its meeting on August 2, the Queer Justice League, an activist group founded in the wake of Larry Kramer's spring speech marking the 20th anniversary of ACT UP, voted to take steps to ensure that Banton and Bounty do not perform on city property.

After several days of intensive discussions among all of these parties, Team Legendary's Alfonso Brooks has made a verbal commitment to press both Banton and Bounty to comply with a key demand not only of Milano and the Queer Justice League here in New York, but also of the international Stop Murder Music campaign - that they sign and publicly state their willingness to abide by the Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA), a document by which other artists have pledged to refrain from making homophobic statements in public, releasing new homophobic songs, or authorizing the re-release of previously-recorded hate-gays music.

Or is this some sort of 'New Yorkese' and I'm misinterpreting the dialect entirely?

This Saturday a number of organizations and anti-homophobia advocates are staging a protest at Randall's Island in New York City where some of the most homophobic Jamaican dancehall reggae singers will be performing at Reggae Carifest. They include Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Elephant Man.

Full details below as well as additional information about another two events being targeted on later dates.

New York hip-hop radio station Power 105 withdrew its sponsorship of tomorrow's Reggae Carifest because two artists on the bill have used anti-gay language in their songs. The two dancehall reggae artists, Buju Banton and Bounty Killer, have both drawn fire for their lyrics over the years. Banton's song "Boom Bye Bye" advocates burning and shooting gay men; Bounty Killer's song "Another Level" refers to drowning them.

Clear Channel, which owns Power 105 (WWPR/105.1 FM), quietly withdrew its support from the festival on Wednesday after receiving a call from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Clear Channel did not issue a statement, but on Thursday a spokeswoman noted that Power 105 does not play Bounty Killer or Buju Banton.

Clear Channel, which owns Power 105 (WWPR/105.1 FM), quietly withdrew its support from the festival on Wednesday after receiving a call from the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Clear Channel did not issue a statement, but on Thursday a spokeswoman noted that Power 105 does not play Bounty Killer or Buju Banton.

Note to self: Defend Clear Channel from the usual corporation slagging next time around.

A reggae festival in New York which was created to promote peace among cultures is being denounced by gay and lesbian groups for allowing performers with a history of anti-gay lyrics.

The Reggae Carifest, which will be held Saturday at Randall's Island, in the East River, promises performances by Buju Banton and Bounty Killer, among several other acts at the daylong event. Gay and lesbian activists are planning to protest the performers outside the show to educate sponsors and concertgoers on the dangers of anti-gay lyrics, said Rashid Robinson, a spokesman for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, GLAAD. He said the performers have a right to free speech, but so do protest groups.

"We as an organization value free speech. It gives us the right to stand up to vulgar anti-gay lyrics which promote violence,'' he said.

[...]

Calls to record labels for Banton and Bounty Killer were not immediately returned Friday. Concert promoter Team Legendary did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

The city Parks Department, which operates Randall's Island, said in a statement Friday that all performers signed a code of conduct agreeing to refrain from performing anti-gay lyrics at the promoter's request.

"This is a city that values the free speech of all artists, but we also are a city that does not accept intolerance. We are glad that the artists have agreed to refrain from hateful messages,'' the department said in a statement.

Well, Power 105 did NOT withdraw its sponosorship. That was somehow floated around but apparently not true. They were not only evident, but MC'ing the affair.