Buju Banton, the Jamaican reggae singer whose music glorifies the brutal torture and murder of LGBT people, has been nominated for a Grammy Award for his album, Rasta Got Soul.
Banton has faced a year of financial turmoil, following cancellations by big concert promoters over the outrage by the LGBT community over the lyrics to his song "Boom Boom Bye", which advocates "shooting f-ggots and burnng them like old tires". However, he has been playing smaller bars and clubs across the U.S. of late this year.
Why the Grammy committee would nominate Banton in the first place is a head-scratcher, given the fact that he is the inventor of so-called "murder music". But get this - this isn't his first nomination, it's his fourth.
According to popular blog Pam's House Blend, the LA Gay & Lesbian Center issued the following statement after today's announcement:
"We're shocked that Buju Banton, a singer with a long record of performing a song that glorifies the murder of gay people, would be honored with a Grammy nomination, regardless of the artistic merit of any of his work.
Throughout his career, Banton has performed music that promotes a culture of violence against lesbian and gay people; he sings in "Boom, Bye Bye" that "f-ggots get up and run" when he comes, that "they have to die," and that he will shoot them in the head or "burn them up bad."
He is completely unrepentant, refuses to stop performing the song, and recently said, "There is no end to the war between me and f-ggots."
Banton's music has helped foster such an anti-gay culture in his home country of Jamaica - where several prominent gay activists and many other LGBT people have been murdered - that Time magazine recently asked, 'Is Jamaica the most homophobic place on Earth?' Banton himself was charged with a violent anti-gay hate crime.
It's an affront to LGBT people, and to all fair-minded people around the world, that Buju Banton was even nominated. We certainly hope the members of the Recording Academy will not bestow the prestigious honor of a Grammy on someone whose music promotes murder."
Since its release, Rasta Got Soul has received rave reviews from an array of international media outlets including Billboard, Hip-Hop Weekly and All Music Guide, who called the album an "instant classic." A documentary video for the new single from Rasta Got Soul called "Optimistic Soul" will be released next month, according to Irish and Chin.com.
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Comments
I can't believe this has gotten so far already. If he had been speaking of any other minority group (say African-Americans?), there'd be a tornado of activity denouncing him. Between this and the Uganda story, it's a bit scary. Okay, it's a lot scary.
It makes me wonder if the marriage rights losses of late have given bigots the impression that it's okay to call for extermination.
It hurts, too, that these calls for intolerance and deadly action come from people who have themselves suffered under oppressive laws and widespread hatred.
Leslie,
I completely agree. If an "artist" (and I use that term loosely) focused on the torture and killing of African-Americans, a particular religion, the disabled, or the elderly, he wouldn't be up for an award; he'd most likely be killed by an angry mob, in prison, or living in exile. But since he targets gays, he's nominated for a Grammy. It is a scary state of affairs in the world when such an artist is celebrated instead of vilified a proving that LGBT-hate is deep-rooted and not going away anytime soon.
This article states that "throughout his career, Banton has performed music that promotes a culture of violence against lesbian and gay people".
This is not true.
Buju Banton has not performed homophobic songs throughout his career. He released a song with homophobic lyrics in the early 1990s, but has not performed music with homophobic lyrics since turning towards spirituality in around 1996. Those who suggest that he has have yet to produce any credible evidence to back up their statements. Those campaigning against Buju Banton are doing so 15 years after the event, and need to move on.
Buju Banton is one of the greatest reggae singers of all time.Is music speaks for itself, since he has done the song boom bye bye..Since then he has transformed to Rastafarian and have been doing alot of music about peace and love..Where is his credit for that? He did boom bye bye when he was nineteen..Gay people should leave the man alone..
you americans complain about him calling for death on criminals and murderers.....in jamaica, his home country it is as much of an offense...so what are you judging...hipocrates!!!
@Pluego Edwards
According to the Jamaica Observer, In October, 2009, Banton reiterated his homophobic views, saying, "This is a fight, and as I said in one of my songs, 'there is no end to the war between me and f*gg*t' and it's clear."
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