<--- Tour Dates & Cities for BUJU BANTON Tour 2009 23 VENUES CANCELED! BUJU BANTON MANAGED TO PERFORM IN 32 VENUES CITY, STATE VENUES TO BOYCOTT - REFUSED TO CANCEL TOUR DATE 1 Albuquerque, NM BOYCOTT Sunshine Theater 10-19-2009 2 Ann Arbor, MI BOYCOTT Blind Pig 9-30-2009 3 Aspen, CO BOYCOTT Belly Up Aspen 10-07-2009 4 Atlanta, GA BOYCOTT Rival Entertainment 1374 West Peachtree St.10-24-2009 5 Austin, TX BOYCOTT Flamingo Cantina 10-21-2009 6 Berkeley, CA BOYCOTT Shattuck Down Low 10-10-2009 7 Bladensburg, MD BOYCOTT Crossroads 4103 Baltimore Avenue9-13-2009 8 Charlotte, NC BOYCOTT Amos' Southend 9-23-2009 9 Cincinnati, OH BOYCOTT The Club Elements nue
10-01-2009 10 Columbus, OH BOYCOTT The Alrosa Villa 10-02-2009 The Alrosa Villa gave Buju Banton two shows!! 10-03-2009 11 Dallas, TX BOYCOTT Palm Beach Reggae Club 10-20-2009 12 Denver, CO BOYCOTT Cervantes 10-06-2009 13 Jacksonville, FL BOYCOTT Plush 10-29-2009 14 Katy, TX BOYCOTT The Red Zone 10-22-2009 15 Los Angeles, CA BOYCOTT Cabana Club 10-15-2009 16 Miami, FL James L. Knight Center 400 SE 2nd Avenue 10-31-2009 17 Newark, NJ Newark Bears & Eagles Riverfront Stadium 9-20-2009 18 New Haven, CT BOYCOTT Toad's Place 300 York Street9-16-2009 19 Norfolk, VA BOYCOTT The Norva 9-25-2009 20 Orlando, FL BOYCOTT Destiny Nightclub 11-01-2009 21 Philadelphia, PA BOYCOTT Trocadero Theatre 1003 Arch Street9-12-2009 22 Portland, ME BOYCOTT Asylum 121 Center Street 9-17-2009 23 Providence, RI BOYCOTT Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel 79 Washington Street9-15-2009 24 Raleigh, NC BOYCOTT The Lincoln Theatre 9-24-2009 25 Revere, MA BOYCOTT Club Lido 1290 North Shore Road9-18-2009 26 Rochester, NY BOYCOTT Water Street Music Hall 9-19-2009 27 San Francisco, CA BOYCOTT Rockit Room 10-12-2009 28 Santa Rosa, CA BOYCOTT The Casbar 3345 Santa Rosa Avenue 10-14-2009 29 Solana Beach, CA BOYCOTT Belly Up Tavern 10-17-2009 30 Tampa, FL BOYCOTT The Historian Cuban Club 10-30-2009 31 West Melbourne, FL BOYCOTT Levelz Night Club 10-28-2009 32 White Plains, NY The Westchester County Center 9-27-2009
ST PETERSBURG, FL SHOW CANCELED! AUSTIN, TX SHOW CANCELED! UPDATE: 2ND AUSTIN SHOW JUST ADDED!Now FLAMINGO CANTINA Has Booked Criminal Homophobe Buju Banton SAN JOSE, CA SHOW CANCELED! 2ND LOS ANGELES, CA SHOW CANCELED! EUREKA, CA SHOW CANCELED! CHARLESTON, SC SHOW CANCELED! DETROIT, MI SHOW CANCELED! SANTA CLARA, CA SHOW CANCELED! 3 RICHMOND, VA SHOWS CANCELED! UPDATE: Third show added at Skateland Of Richmond CANCELS!ORLANDO & TAMPA SHOWS CANCELED! SALT LAKE CITY SHOW CANCELED! Buju Banton concert canceled over anti-gay message, company says CINCINNATI & COLUMBUS CANCELED! Buju Banton Columbus OH show cancelled by promoter MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA CANCELED! First Avenue cancels appearance by anti-gay reggae artist Buju Banton (born Mark Anthony Myrie 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall, ragga, and reggae singer. In 1988, at age 15, he recorded,
“Boom Bye Bye” [re-released in 1992] with anti-gay lyrics celebrating the brutal execution of faggots by shooting them in the head with an uzi, pouring acid on their skin and burning them like tires. Banton continues to profit from and perform this song in 2009.
On June 24, 2004, six men where driven from their home on Carlisle Avenue in Kingston and beaten by armed assailants calling the victims “battymen” (slang for gays). Buju Banton was one of the alleged attackers as documented by human rights groups and verified by
Amnesty International . The case was dismissed in 2006, however, because homosexuality is a crime in Jamaica, the police fail to protect LGBT people from hate crimes and fully prosecute those who commit them.
In 2007, Buju Banton signed the
Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA), to refrain from performing homophobic songs, but later denied doing so and continued to perform Boom Bye Bye.
2009 - Buju is back on tour in the US.
Live Nation/House of Blues and
Goldenvoice/AEG canceled venues in Philadelphia, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles after an outcry from LGBT community activists. Banton’s ‘Rasta Got Soul’ tour will kick off in
Philly despite the AEG Live cancellation. Local activists are now working on getting 30 shows canceled or are preparing protests and boycotts for venues supporting Banton’s Murder Music.
The "Fire Burn Batty" Video has been removed, but here is the same song with an extended anti-gay rant. The following version contains direct references to "Boom Bye Bye", the lightning strike (at 3 minutes) followed by the quoted line, "There is no end to the war between me and faggots!" The rage continues against the same-sex marriage vote in California, calling out cartoon characters SpongeBob SquarePants and Beavis & Butthead as "batty boy men", Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, etc. If this song is not "Boom Bye Bye", then it is another anti-gay song in Buju Banton's catalogue, which he performs and profits from while attacking the gay community at large. HERE IS THE PERFORMANCE ON THE 2009 TOUR WITHOUT THE ANTI-GAY RANT:
The Most Homophobic Place on Earth? Brian wears sunglasses to hide his gray and lifeless left eye—damaged, he says, by kicks and blows with a board from Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton. Brian, 44, is gay, and Banton , 32, is an avowed homophobe whose songBoom Bye-Bye decrees that gays "haffi dead" ("have to die") Banton and some toughs burst into his house near Banton's Kingston recording studio and viciously beat him and five other men Banton was finally charged last fall, but in January a judge dismissed the case for lack of evidence. It was a bitter decision for Brian, who lost his landscaping business after the attack and is fearful of giving his last name. "I still go to church," he says as he sips a Red Stripe beer. "Every Sunday I ask why this happened to me."
Though familiar to Americans primarily as a laid-back beach destination, Jamaica is hardly idyllic. The country has the world's highest murder rate. And its rampant violence against gays and lesbians has prompted human-rights groups to confer another ugly distinction: the most homophobic place on earth.
In the past two years, two of the island's most prominent gay activists,
Brian Williamson and
Steve Harvey , have been murdered — and a crowd even celebrated over Williamson's mutilated body. Perhaps most disturbing, many anti-gay assaults have been acts of mob violence. In 2004, a teen was almost killed when his father learned his son was gay and invited a group to lynch the boy at his school. Months later, witnesses say, police egged on another mob that stabbed and stoned a gay man to death in Montego Bay. And this year a Kingston man, Nokia Cowan, drowned after a crowd shouting "batty boy" (a Jamaican epithet for homosexual) chased him off a pier. "Jamaica is the worst any of us has ever seen," says Rebecca Schleifer of the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch and author of a scathing report on the island's anti-gay hostility.
Jamaica may be the worst offender, but much of the rest of the Caribbean also has a long history of intense homophobia. Islands like Barbados still criminalize homosexuality, and some seem to be following Jamaica's more violent example. Last week two CBS News producers, both Americans, were beaten with tire irons by a gay-bashing mob while vacationing on St. Martin. One of the victims, Ryan Smith, was airbused to a Miami hospital, where he remains in intensive care with a fractured skull.
Gay-rights activists attribute the scourge of homophobia in Jamaica largely to the country's increasingly thuggish reggae music scene. Few epitomize the melding of reggae and gangsta cultures more than
Banton , who is one of the nation's most popular dance-hall singers. Born
Mark Myrie , he grew up the youngest of 15 children in Kingston's Salt Lane — the sort of slum dominated by ultraconservative Christian churches and intensely anti-gay Rastafarians.
Banton parlayed homophobia into a ticket out of Salt Lane. One of his first hits, 1992's
Boom Bye-Bye boasts of shooting gays with Uzis and burning their skin with acid "like an old tire wheel."
Banton 's lyrics are hardly unique among reggae artists today. Another popular artist, Elephant Man (O'Neil Bryant, 29) declares in one song, "When you hear a lesbian getting raped/ It's not our fault ... Two women in bed/ That's two Sodomites who should be dead." Another, Bounty Killer (Rodney Price, 33), urges listeners to burn "Mister Fagoty" and make him "wince in agony."
Reggae's anti-gay rhetoric has seeped into the country's politics. Jamaica's major political parties have passed some of the world's toughest antisodomy laws and regularly incorporate homophobic music in their campaigns. "The view that results," says Jamaican human-rights lawyer Philip Dayle, "is that a homosexual isn't just an undesirable but an unapprehended criminal."
Meanwhile, gay-rights activists say Jamaican police often overlook evidence in anti-gay hate crimes, such as the alleged assault by Banton in 2004. His accuser, Brian, says cops excised Banton 's role from their reports of the 2004 beating. A police spokesman denies that.
But in dismissing the case earlier this year, the judge in the trial warned Banton to avoid violence and "seek legal recourses" when he has complaints against gays in the future. Banton refused TIME's request for an interview. His manager, Donovan Germain, insists that the singer is innocent and that "Buju's lyrics are part of a metaphorical tradition. They're not a literal call to kill gay men."
There are some signs that Jamaica may soften its approach. Jamaica's ruling party last month elected the nation's first female Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller, a progressive who gay-rights supporters hope will eventually move to decriminalize homosexuality. She hasn't yet said that, but Jamaica's beleaguered gays say they at least have reason now to hope their government will change its tune before their reggae stars ever do.
CHRISTAFARI - In the reggae community, the band has not been well accepted, and matters were not helped when Mohr penned a book deriding Rastafarianism. While staying in a Cleveland hotel, dancehall artist
Buju Banton showed his displeasure with the band by attacking and cutting Mohr with a knife , but Mohr in a gesture of forgiveness refused to press charges. Mainstream Christians have not always accepted Christafari either, primarily because they are unfamiliar with or suspicious of reggae music. But the band works hard at educating its audiences, and it seems to be working. Their 1995 album Soulfire sold 80,000 copies and earned them a nomination for the Dove foundation's Urban Album of the Year. In 1996, they were selected to play in the Olympic Village during the Atlanta Summer Olympics. That year they also released Valley of Decision, which they followed three years later with Word Sound & Power.
~ Sandra Brennan, All Music Guide
Buju Banton’s violations of the Reggae Compassionate Act By Peter Tatchell, international coordinator of the Stop Murder Music campaign http://www.ukgaynews.org.uk/Archive/09/Oct/0701.htm Reggae Compassionate Act (RCA) in 2007. It is signed under his real name, Mark Myrie.First evidence: Second evidence: Boom Bye Bye http://www.allbusiness.com/services/amusement-recreation-services/4744013-1.html Boom Bye Bye http://youtube.com/watch?v=l0Eg4Dd9NY4 More evidence: US concert organisers switched off Banton’s mike after they deemed he had attempted to sing Boom Bye Bye Boom Bye Bye http://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=12309 Third evidence: The context and issues to consider: This is not a free speech issue. Incitement to murder is a criminal offence in Jamaica and the US. Free speech does not include the right to incite the killing of other human beings.Boom Bye Bye Lyrics of Buju Banton’s Boom Bye Bye with standard English translation and explanation underneath ]Boom [as in gun sound] goodbye, goodbye In a queer’s head Rude boys don’t promote no queer men They have to die Send for the automatic [gun] and The Uzi instead Shoot them, don’t come if we shoot them If a man comes near me Then his skin must peel Burn him up badly, like you would burn an old tyre wheel AUDIO FILE & FULL LYRICS "When [Human Rights Watch researcher Rebecca] Schleifer visited Jamaica in 2004, Brian Williamson , the country’s leading gay activist, was violently chopped to death with a machete in his apartment in Kingston. Schleifer walked to his street shortly after the murder and found a crowd of people gathered outside Williamson’s apartment singing and celebrating his murder and shouting the chorus of 'Boom Bye Bye,' a popular Buju Banton dancehall hit about shooting gay men: 'Boom bye bye, in a ******’s head. Rude boys don’t promote nasty men, they have to die.' Others were laughing and yelling, 'Let’s get them one at a time,' and, 'That’s what you get for sin.'” BOOM BYE BYE REMIXES Boom Boom Bye Bye BUJU BANTON'S SIGNED STATEMENT - REGGAE COMPASSIONATE ACT October 27th, 2007 Buju Banton sang part of 'Boom Bye Bye' at theGuyana Music Festival “Buju no like batty boys,” he told the cheering crowd, “and dem batty boy attack Buju.” His defiance was met with loud cheers from the crowd, culminating when he began the refrain, “Boom Bye Bye" Strategicly placed Gay Rights Monitors at the Guyana Music Festival reported that just prior to the conclusion of the Entertainer's October 27, 2007 concert, he defiantly performed his controversial boom bye bye ... via Propaganda press
October 29, 2007 But the night certainly belonged to the dreadlocked, still very much homophobic Jamaican dancehall star, who had no apologies for his discriminatory lyrics lashing the gay community. “Buju nah like no batty boy and dem batty boy attack Buju” , the singer said to an adulating audience who seemed to have been waiting for that exact moment. And perhaps feeling the vibes of the embracing crowd and the urge to sing his controversial song, “Boom boom bye” OCTOBER 21ST, 2007 OFFICIAL RESPONSE FROM BUJU'S COMPANY CONCERNING GUYANA PERFORMANCE: Two years ago, when Buju found himself the target of a new generation of gay activists, he made an artistic decision to incorporate two lines from “Boom Bye Bye” Miami as a springboard to discuss the enduring persecution he was currently facing because of that age old song. Certain factions of the gay community continue to use it to discredit him in the media, despite the fact that over the past 15 years, Banton and his Shiloh band have played gigs in almost every continent around the globe, and the song has not been a part of the performance. Reggae musician's rep responds to anti-gay allegations 10:49 AM EDT on Friday, September 25, 2009 link Buju Banton “Boom Bye Bye,” “Buju Banton does NOT perform ‘Boom Bye Bye.’” “The song is not and has never been a part of his live set. He realizes now that even a mere mention of the song from his lips can be misconstrued as a performance, and trust, the artist is not going there.” Banton was never involved in any conversations about the Reggae Compassionate Act CANCEL BUJU BANTON "RASTA GOT HATE" TOUR 2009 9-12 Philadelphia 9-13 Bladensburg, MD 9-15 Providence, RI 9-16 New Haven, CT 9-17 Portland, ME 9-18 Revere, MA (BOSTON) 9-19 Rochester, NY 9-20 Newark, NJ 9-23 Charlotte, NC 9-24 Raleigh, NC 9-25 Norfolk, VA 9-26 Richmond, VA CANCELED! 9-27 White Plains, NY 9-30 Detroit, MI CANCELED! 09-30 Ann Arbor, MI JUST ADDED 10-01 Chicago CANCELED! 10-01 Cincinnati, OH JUST ADDED 10-02 Cincinnati, OH CANCELED! 10-02 Columbus, OH JUST ADDED 10-03 Columbus, OH RESCHEDULED! 10-04 Minneapolis, MN CANCELED! 10-06 Denver, CO 10-07 Aspen, CO 10-08 Salt Lake City, UT CANCELED! 10-10 San Francisco CANCELED! 10-10 Berkeley, CA JUST ADDED 10-11 Tallahassee, FL CANCELED! 10-11 Eureka, CA CANCELED! 10-12 San Francisco, CA JUST ADDED 10-13 Santa Clara, CA CANCELED! 10-13 San Jose, CA CANCELED! 10-14 Los Angeles CANCELED! 10-14 Santa Rosa, CA JUST ADDED 10-15 Las Vegas CANCELED! 10-15 Los Angeles RESCHEDULED! 10-17 Solana Beach, CA (San Diego) 10-19 Albuquerque, NM 10-20 Dallas RESCHEDULED! 10-21 Austin, TX RESCHEDULED! 10-22 Houston CANCELED! 10-22 Katy, TX (Houston) JUST ADDED 10-24 Atlanta 10-27 Charleston, SC CANCELED! 10-28 West Melbourne, FL JUST ADDED 10-29 Jacksonville, FL 10-30 Tampa, FL RESCHEDULED! 10-30 St Petersburg, FL CANCELED! 10-31 Miami, FL 11-01 Orlando, FL RESCHEDULED !
LATEST NEWS: 'No end to the war between me and the gays,' Buju tells Muta Buju Speaks... J-FLAG responds Observer writer Buju Banton says he will not "surrender" Banton Back row, L - R: Buju's PR representative Jonathan Mack, Bevan Dufty, Andrea Shorter, Eric Mar, Rebecca Rolfe and Tracii McGregor of Gargamel Music. Front row, Michael Petrelis and Buju.
"This is a fight, and as I said in one of my songs 'there is no end to the war between me and ******' and it's clear. Banton "I owe dem nothing, they don't owe I nothing." "It is not about boxing food out my mouth, if a that I would have surrendered to the system a long time ago," "The mayor of San Francisco, or the mayor-to-be, claimed that I was in his district and that it was imperative for him and his organisation to meet with me to further see what kind of personality or character (I have)." "Them come with demands which I and I a go flop dem right now, because give thanks to my culture and upbringing I coulda never endorse them things. I can't sell myself out, neither would I do that in a thousand years," "I love everyone in the world. I don't love no special group from another group. There are other needy organisations out there." I said to him that this transpired 17 years ago and every year is the same thing," "I have two-and-a-half more weeks and let me tell you this, if a show has been cancelled or postponed by this group of people, it has been picked up and replaced in another venue. Let the struggle continue," "Pray for I, don't cry for I," In California and New York, homophobic music and hate crimes still a big problem Post by EQCA Communications Manager Jorge Amaro
Musical lyrics promoting the killing of people should never be the chorus of any tune. That however, is not the case for Buju Banton, a reggae singer whose music promotes the violent murder of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Last week, EQCA
asked everyone to join in and continue boycotting Buju’s concerts scheduled to take place in California. As people flock to attend his concerts and finance his homophobic agenda, a huge step backwards in the fight for human rights worldwide, the toll of crimes committed against the LGBT community continues to rise.
Two weeks ago Jack Price, a 49-year-old from Queens, New York, was beaten up simply because he is gay.
Watch
Pedro Julio Serrano discuss anti-LGBT crimes on “Al Rojo Vivo,” Spanish-language television news magazine on Univision:
The attack happened only hours before the US House of Representatives passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act with a 281 to 146 vote. The bill expands the landmark 1969 United States federal hate crimes law to include crimes motivated by a victim's real or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability.
Earlier this year,
on July 17 , the Golden State officially endorsed Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act through resolutions passed by the state legislature. The resolutions sponsored by EQCA and introduced by Assemblymember Pedro Nava (D-Santa Barbara) and Senator Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego) received support of both sides of the party lines.
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, honors the memory of the two victims of hate crimes by naming the bill after them: Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., an African-American man who was dragged to death in Jasper, Texas. The Senate is expected to vote and pass the bill in the upcoming days, which will then be sent to President Obama for his signature.
To join the boycott against Buju Batan please visit
http://cancelbujubanton.wetpaint.com/ , and to help fight homophobia in New York please contact the National Gay and Lesbian Task New York Office:
http://www.thetaskforce.org/ .
Boycott of Buju Banton concert at Cabana Club in Hollywood, CA
J-FLAG not impressed Observer writer Michael Petrelis and Buju.
Hi SF LGBT Activists, SF Weekly article . See my briefing here .www.petertatchell.net Reggae Compassionate Act- FINAL Sep 07 SF Protest Over Reggae Artist With Anti-Gay Song CBS5 STORY LINK:
http://cbs5.com/entertainment/buju.banton.reggae.2.1244113.html CBS5 VIDEO LINK: http://cbs5.com/video/?id=56580@kpix.dayport.com SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― Protestors outside the Rockit Room in San Francisco Monday night, many from the gay and lesbian community, raised their voices against a reggae signer over a song with anti-gay lyrics. But gay rights advocates and city leaders were able to reach out to the singer ahead of a scheduled performance.
Buju Banton has to rethink The "Fax Machine" comments at the Rasta got Soul album launch at the University of the West Indies of all places to embrace him Buju Banton after making a short speech referred to the gay lobby then as a bunch of guys behind a fax machine and hinting that he wasn't worried about the opposition he had been facing all these years since the release and constant quiet marketing of his most famous hate song "Boom Bye Bye".Some of reggae's strong supporters at the UWI: ( from left) Cecil Gutzmore, Professor Carolyn Cooper, and Dr Donna Hope Marquis share a moment with Buju Banton (second right) at the launch of Rasta Got Soul at the Undercroft, University of the West Indies, Mona. "It is just a few guys behind a fax machine, but we must come together and write letters because it is more of us than them." Let's examine this ....... WHAT HYPOCRISY??? Songs of hate BY GEORGE BYARS http://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/other-views/story/1268476.html Posted on Tuesday, 10.06.09 Reggae dancehall performers Buju Banton and Beenie Man don't know me, but they say they hate me. Inciting violence Boom Bye Bye , his first hateful call to violence, they say. ``He doesn't perform it anymore.'' Boom Bye Bye in Miami in 2007. Search the Internet and you'll see him onstage in a video posted September 2009, screaming: ``There is no end to the war between me and the f--gots!'' Speaking out peacefully It is a sign of deep respect for the First Amendment, not an affront to it, to meet hateful speech with only speech, not threats of violence. And that is what fair-minded Floridians -- gay and straight alike -- have been doing all across the state. We are speaking out against the dehumanization of people and the murderous message these two dancehall singers continue to spew for profit. If the concert goes on, you can be certain there will be protesters outside, exercising our First Amendment right to free speech. Equality Florida. He previously served as development director of the civil rights organization. Friday, October 2, 2009 http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2009/10/tone-of-this-star-article-tells-u.html The tone of this Star Article tells u....... The lop sided reporting by the local media here on the Buju Banton troubles doesn't suprise anyone, so one concert may happen out of the many that have been cancelled due to protests by gay groups in the US and it is presented as a victory all round. Typical, as I say to readers take the Star News with a pound of salt. By the way it is still not confirmed whether the October 31st gigs will occur, let's see, in the meantime read the story in today's edition and form your own opinions. Peace http://www.jamaica-star.com/thestar/20091002/ent/ent6.html Reggae Bash defies gays - Buju Banton and Beenie Man will headline event Krista Henry
Despite constant petitioning from gay activist groups to have dancehall acts Buju Banton and Beenie Man removed from the 'Reggae Bash 2009' line up in Miami, the show's organisers have said they will not bow to their demands.cancel concert "The message is that gay people's lives are cheap and that harming gay people is OK. Any time a message of violence and hatred against any group is put out there, it has to be challenged." protests
http://gayjamaicawatch.blogspot.com/2009/10/caster-semenya-or-buju-banton.html CASTER SEMEYA or BUJU BANTON?? The next time Buju Banton sells an online download of “Boom Bye-Bye,” will he spare a thought for Caster Semenya?But Boom Bye-Bye has emerged as history’s most notorious call to kill queers. That’s selling the glorification of genocide so a pop star can get even richer. mikeandshum@yahoo.com Fighting hate in all its forms Originally printed 10/1/2009 (Issue 1740 - Between The Lines News)http://www.pridesource.com/article.html?article=37939 Hate can take many shapes. Hate is all around us, and we have to be careful to not just fight the prejudice that results in actions punishable by law. Some of the most harmful forms of hate are the ones that the arms of the law can never reach. "Boom Bye Bye" - essentially an anti-gay anthem that advocates for the killing and maiming of gays and lesbians. Released in 1992, the song is still causing a fury of gay activists to rally against Banton's performances in the U.S. Just in the past week, his show at Detroit's Majestic Theater was cancelled and then rescheduled at the Ann Arbor venue the Blind Pig. hate and violent speech against the LGBT community should never be tolerated. What matters is what Banton and singers like him stand for, and it's definitely not our rights. "Boom Bye Bye" is more than just a song - it's a message to anti-gay advocates in support of what they do. It's one more person with a large audience preaching hatred of our community. We can't wait for hate speech to become a hate crime before we act. Open letter to Buju Banton’s manager Tracii McGregor: In your open letter dated September 3, you state that you’re “setting the record straight” on “grossly inaccurate portrayals” of Buju Banton, following the recent cancellation of many of his performances.in Miami , and as recently as 2007 at the Guyana Music Festival .If the song’s “not a call to violence,” as you claim, then what exactly does Banton mean when he sings: “faggots… have to die” and that he will shoot them in the head and “burn them up bad?”crowds gathered outside his house and started cheering and singing "Boom Bye Bye" in celebration of his killing. This and similar gay-bashing violence led Time magazine to recently ask if Jamaica is “the most homophobic place on Earth .” And it was just a few days ago that a gay British diplomat was murdered in Jamaica, in what many believe was a hate-motivated homophobic killing.signed the “Reggae Compassionate Act” (under his real name: Mark Myrie) agreeing (among other things) to never perform anti-gay songs. Perhaps you neglected to mention this, because just weeks later, Banton denied he ever signed it and continued to perform “Boom, Bye Bye.”Billboard.com news story from three years ago, in which he says of gay rights groups: “**** them. I have never bashed any gays before, and if I bashed gays, I bashed them 16 years ago.”
Saturday, 12 September 2009 Homophobia was the probable motive for the murder of a British diplomat. Cahal Milmo reports on an island where hate crime is rife Saturday, 12 September 2009 The manner of Mr Terry's death provides harrowing evidence that prejudice continues to thrive. AP From the "murder music" lyrics of reggae stars exhorting the murder of gay men to a member of Jamaica's governing political party who has described homosexuals as "abusive and violent" and called for gay sex to be made punishable by life imprisonment – the Caribbean island has long been beset by what campaigners describe as "institutional homophobia". On the bed was a hand-written note which described Mr Terry as a "batty man", derogatory slang for a homosexual. Signed "Gay-Man", it added: "This is what will happen to ALL gays." Official statistics are hard to come by, but evidence gathered by Amnesty International shows that at least 35 gay men have been murdered in the Caribbean country since 1997. They include Brian Williamson, the co-founder of the country's main gay rights groups, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), who was hacked to death with a machete in 2004. A crowd was seen celebrating around Mr Williamson's mutilated body. The Stop Murder Music campaign in Britain and North America has brought the issue to international prominence, attempting to apply pressure on Banton and artists including Beenie Man, Sizzla and Bounty Killer, by calling for boycotts of concerts and the withdrawal of sponsorship. A number of singers, including Beenie Man and Sizzla, have agreed to sign an undertaking not to repeat songs containing lyrics that advocate homophobia, but the effectiveness of the agreement has been brought into question after performers, including Banton, agreed to its sentiments only to then deny ever having made any such a commitment.
9-12 Philadelphia RESCHEDULED! 9-13 Bladensburg, MD 9-15 Providence, RI 9-16 New Haven, CT 9-17 Portland, ME 9-18 Revere, MA (BOSTON) 9-19 Rochester, NY 9-20 Newark, NJ 9-23 Charlotte, NC 9-24 Raleigh, NC 9-25 Norfolk, VA 9-26 Richmond, VA CANCELED! 9-27 White Plains, NY 9-30 Detroit, MI CANCELED! 09-30 Ann Arbor, MI JUST ADDED 10-01 Chicago CANCELED! 10-01 Cincinnati, OH JUST ADDED 10-02 Cincinnati, OH CANCELED! 10-02 Columbus, OH JUST ADDED 10-03 Columbus, OH RESCHEDULED! 10-04 Minneapolis, MN CANCELED! 10-06 Denver, CO 10-07 Aspen, CO 10-08 Salt Lake City, UT CANCELED! 10-10 San Francisco CANCELED! 10-10 Berkeley, CA JUST ADDED 10-11 Tallahassee, FL CANCELED! 10-11 Eureka, CA CANCELED! 10-12 San Francisco, CA JUST ADDED 10-13 Santa Clara, CA CANCELED! 10-13 San Jose, CA CANCELED! 10-14 Los Angeles CANCELED! 10-14 Santa Rosa, CA JUST ADDED 10-15 Las Vegas CANCELED! 10-15 Los Angeles RESCHEDULED! 10-17 Solana Beach, CA (San Diego) 10-19 Albuquerque, NM 10-20 Dallas RESCHEDULED! 10-21 Austin, TX RESCHEDULED! 10-22 Houston CANCELED! 10-22 Katy, TX (Houston) JUST ADDED 10-24 Atlanta 10-27 Charleston, SC CANCELED! 10-28 West Melbourne, FL JUST ADDED 10-29 Jacksonville, FL 10-30 Tampa, FL RESCHEDULED! 10-30 St Petersburg, FL CANCELED! 10-31 Miami, FL 11-01 Orlando, FL RESCHEDULED! PHILADELPHIA -
“We condemn this hate speech and his call to violence against gays and lesbians, as we also condemn the exploitation of our community in song for profit,” said
Thom Cardwell , a board member of the Gittings Trust, a Philadelphia-based political action committee whose stated mission is “to advance equality for all gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender citizens.
“Let us be extremely clear: Those who advocate the willful killing of others must be shunned by a just society and those companies who facilitate and profit from this hurtful conduct must also be boycotted, reprimanded, shunned and avoided to the fullest.” SALT LAKE CITY -
Urban Partners said it canceled the Urban Lounge show based on "moral grounds." "We strive for peace and understanding in our community," the release read.
"We support the rights of all." Statement from Detroit’s Majestic Theatre:
“The Buju Banton concert that was to be held at the Majestic Theatre on Wednesday, September 30th has been cancelled. This was an incredibly tough decision for us both philosophically and economically. If we had known that there was any controversy surrounding this artist, we would have never even considered booking him. We do not condone any form of hate speech. We have struggled to get out of our contract for over a month to no avail. The Majestic is in essence a family-run small business. It is next to impossible to simply cancel a show without major financial consequences. Yet, that is what we have done.” “We feel that our decision to cancel the show is less about making a statement on free speech and more about continuing to provide a welcoming atmosphere for all people. Over the past month, our friends and neighbors within various LBGT groups have reached out to us and expressed deep concern over Buju’s past comments and song lyrics. For decades, The Majestic has been a haven for unique events and people from all walks of life. At this point and time, Detroiters need to stand together more than ever. We could not allow one event to create a divide. We hope that you continue your support and patronage of The Majestic.” -The Zainea Family
CHARLESTON, SC -
“Neither, All-In Entertainment or the Music Farm, were aware of this song and the suggestions that it makes,” Lowe said in a statement emailed to media.
“While we do believe in first amendment rights, we do not feel this artist projects the image that All-In Entertainment and The Music Farm have spent years building. We feel it is in the best interest of our fans, friends and the community as a whole to cancel this performance. ” EUREKA, CA - HUMBOLDT COUNTY
Greetings, This email is to confirm that after lengthy consideration, Gil and myself decided that we will cancel the upcoming Buju Banton concert at the Nocturnum Nightclub scheduled for the October 11th, 2009. We have been diligently speaking with the management and various activists over the past two weeks in an effort to help establish a dialogue for discussions. We care about our local gay community. Buju did issue a statement today that we have forwarded to you today, but it doesn’t change our decision. We will continue towards positive, constructivesolutions. We regret any inconveniences this has caused to ourcommunity. from
Carol Bruno/ PeopleProductions
Gil Miracle/Nocturnum
An open letter to the LGBT community, other Allies, and Humboldt County at large,
I would like to state unequivocally that I always have been and always will be an ally to the LGBT community and it hurts me to think that, due to this proposed event, public perception might be otherwise. I want to thank the concerned citizens who sent me thoughtful, intelligent and eloquent messages illustrating their point of view. In a fractured world it is encouraging to see our community, gay, straight, or otherwise, coalesce around themes of unity, love and equality. I am proud to be a member of this community and I am thankful for the response my business has received in the six short months we have been operating. Sincerely, Gil Miracle
Nocturnum
High Art Productions
gilmiracle@sbcglobal.net
San Jose, California -
"After reviewing Buju Banton's lyrics, I was appalled by their sheer hatred and encouragement of violence towards the gay, lesbian and transgender community," stated David Powell, co-owner of Voodoo Lounge.
"There is no place for these types of incendiary remarks at Voodoo Lounge or in San Jose." Eight Jamaican singers encourage & glorify homophobic murder:Beenie Man 
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