If Capleton is scheduled to perform in your area, show the information below to the venue manager.
Controversial Jamaican dancehall performer Capleton has a history of writing and performing songs that call for LGBT people to be killed. He also has a history of making homophobic comments from the stage during performances. (See Capleton’s “Kill LGBT” Songs below and Amnesty International USA “’Battybwoys affi dead:’ Action against homophobia in Jamaica” http://bit.ly/lfBJm4 )
Capleton has songs where he sings about “equal rights and justice for all” (“That Day Will Come”), but he also is known to call for the death of LGBT people from the stage. We don’t know if he understands the contradiction.
Capleton’s manager, Claudette Kemp, denies that he has written or sung songs that call for LGBT people to be killed. They may also tell clubs that Capleton signed an agreement in 2007 (“Reggae Compassionate Act agreement”) in which he promised not to promote hatred and violence. What they don’t tell clubs is that Capleton violated that agreement before the end of 2007. Capleton also claims that his kill LGBT songs are “misunderstood or misinterpreted.” A number of Capleton’s kill LGBT songs are on YouTube and you can listen carefully for yourself and hear the calls for LGBT people to be murdered for yourself. Lyrics of Capleton’s songs are online and some relevant translations are provided below.
Singing “Slew Dem” at the 2011 “A St Mary Mi Come From” would be another violation of Capleton’s Reggae Compassionate Act Agreement.
Capleton is as homophobic as he always has been and continued singing his “kill LGBT” song “Slew Dem” while touring in 2012. He performed “Slew Dem” at his “A St Mary Mi Come From” fundraiser in 2012 which also featured “kill LGBT” songs from Sizzla.
There is a YouTube video of Capleton violating his Reggae Compassionate Act agreement before the end of 2007. See section “Capleton’s ‘Kill LGBT’ Stage Comments and Violation of his Reggae Compassionate Act Agreement“ below. There is a link to the YouTube video in the section. Using the transcription/translation that is provided, and listening carefully, you can hear the violations for yourself.
At a minimum, a club hiring Capleton to perform should have an agreement with him about singing lyrics or making comments that call for hatred against, violence to and/or murder of LGBT people. Believe it or not, such songs and comments are acceptable in some areas of the world, such as in Jamaica, the Caribbean and some African countries. They are not acceptable in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.
Capleton and his colleague Sizzla Kolonji are ultra-orthodox Rastafarians (“Bobo Ashanti” or “Bobo Dreads”). They are known as “fyah burn” (“fire burn”) artistes because of their calls to God to burn wickedness. The calls are supposed to be metaphoric, but sometimes people take it literally in the Caribbean and set LGBT people on fire. LGBT people have also been necklaced in the Caribbean. Rastafarians, in general, take the Old Testament of the Bible literally, including Leviticus 18:22 and Leviticus 20:13. They believe these verses of the Bible to be the literal words and commands of God.
Sizzla continues to violate his Reggae Compassionate Act agreement. On February 24th, 2011, at the Jamaica Reggae Industry Association (JaRIA) Black History concert series in Kingston, Sizzla sang two of his “kill LGBT” songs “Get to the Point” and “Pump Up.” These two songs are in the “Dancehall Dossier,” see link below. On April 24th, 2011, at the “Coke Zero Live on the Waterfront” event in Montego Bay, Sizzla called for the lynching of gays by singing Buju Banton’s “kill LGBT” anthem “Boom Bye Bye.” Sizzla at Coke Zero Live on the Waterfront
What can you do?
Anyone who opposes the promotion of hatred, violence and vigilante killing or lynching should be encouraged to speak out against Capleton and the other “kill LGBT” performers.
If Capleton is scheduled to appear at a club or other venue in your area, talk to the owners or managers of the club or venue. They may not know about Capleton’s history. Give them a link to this webpage. There is a good chance that Capleton and promoters have misrepresented Capleton’s past history to the club/venue owners or managers.
Talk to your local Pride Committee, LGBT Community Center and LGBT media. They can let communities know about the appearance. Polite calls to the club or venue can have an effect. Over the years there have been a number of protests and demonstrations at clubs.
When someone who has called for the death of LGBT people comes to a town, someone should speak out against that.
LGBT people and others who support equal rights and fair treatment of LGBT people are often accused of “censorship” when we speak out against “kill LGBT” performers such as Capleton. But it is Capleton and the other murder music artistes who are trying to censor LGBT people. LGBT people are actually killed in Jamaica and once you are dead, you no longer have any “freedom of speech.” Killing someone or threatening to kill someone is the ultimate censorship. It is very effective censorship in Jamaica and the Caribbean, where an LGBT person clearly risks their life if they speak out.
If a murder music performance is not canceled, it is very helpful to have documentation of the performance. Were “kill LGBT” comments made from the stage? Were “kill LGBT” songs performed? Were homophobic songs played between performances? Video and audio documentation is helpful. Be a spy for freedom! Post the homophobic stuff on YouTube. Let us know if the performance is or is not homophobic.
Capleton’s “Kill LGBT” Songs
Capleton has four songs in the “Dancehall Dossier” that call for LGBT people to be killed. The “Dancehall Dossier” is a PDF file at http://bit.ly/9fKHdV I highly recommend the “Dancehall Dossier” to all LGBT people and to everyone who is interested in equal rights.
Lyrics below are all from the “Dancehall Dossier.”
Below the four “kill LGBT” songs is a YouTube video showing Capleton and another dancehall performer, Sizzla, making comments from the stage that LGBT people should be killed. Both are violating their Reggae Compassionate Act agreements not to promote hatred and violence.
You can watch the YouTube video yourself and read the partial transcript of the objectionable comments below. A little patient and careful listening will reward you with a clear understanding of what these anti LGBT performers do while on stage, in addition to singing songs that call for the death of LGBT people.
Capleton may not perform these “kill LGBT” songs or make “kill LGBT” comments from the stage during a particular performance. However, he has broken his Reggae Compassionate Act agreement, on video. He performs in other countries and Jamaica and may be performing “kill LGBT” songs or making “kill LGBT” comments from the stage in these other countries. Other than his broken Reggae Compassionate Act agreement, he has never distanced himself from the “kill LGBT” message of a number of his songs. He could perform one of his “kill LGBT” songs or deliver a rant calling for LGBT people to be killed at any performance, anywhere.
Bun out ah chi chi, Blood out ah chi chi
Burn out a queer, Blood out a queer
Blood out: as in chop, cut, stab, shoot… is a particularly violent,graphic expression
Batty dem ah fuck and ah suck too much pussy
Queers are fucking and sucking too much pussy
In Jamaica, pussy can refer to oral sex in general, which is also considered sodomy
Blood out ah chi chi, Blood out ah shitty
Blood out a queer, Blood out a shit (fucker)
Yow….String dem up and hang dem up alive
Yow, string them up and hang them up alive
Bare batty man come round yah …
All queers who come around here
Dis mamma earth sey none cyann survive
This mama earth says none can survive.
Capleton’s “Kill LGBT” Stage Comments and Violation of his Reggae Compassionate Act Agreement
In 2007, Capleton signed a Reggae Compassionate Act form. By signing this form, he agreed not to promote hatred and violence. You can see the signed form at http://bit.ly/f5OPlT
Before the end of 2007, on 12/25/07, Capleton (and Sizzla) can be seen violating their RCA agreements in this YouTube video shot at the “GT Taylor Christmas Extravaganza” in Jamaica: http://bit.ly/bk6FJn
If you listen closely you can hear Capleton say:
3:36 Capleton: “All who bun battyboy and sodomite?” Sizzla performs “Big
Long Guns” (a song to incite murder by gunfire).
Capleton returns: “All a who a bun battyman n sodomite, show both hands and
you don’t suck cocky or pussy” and uses chants “tun e up” (a subtle way to
say kill). He urges participation and indicates that those who don’t are
gay.
6:22 Sizzla: “Kill battyman n sodomite” and continues “Kill dem outa de
place.”
09:45 Capleton: “Battyman fi dead di yuth em right bout that.” (“Faggots should die. The youth are right about that.”)
(“Battyboy” and “battyman” are derogatory Jamaican Patois terms for gay men.
We translate them as “faggot.” We translate “Battyman fi dead” as “faggots
should die.” “Battyman fi dead di yuth em right bout that” is “faggots should
die the youth are right about that.”)
For some further reading about dancehall, “fyah burn,” homophobia in Jamaica
Sexual acts in Jamaica between two consenting adult men are illegal under their “buggery” laws. This is also true of the other English-speaking, former British colonies in the Caribbean, except for the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
The penalty for breaking the “buggery” laws in Jamaica is up to 10 years at hard labour.
Sex between two consenting adult females is not illegal in Jamaica, but many Jamaicans think that it is. Lesbians in Jamaica are subject to assaults and discrimination. They are also subject to “corrective rapes.” Unfortunately, there are also “corrective rapes” in the U.S. and other parts of the world.
Jamaica is a deeply religious country and it is about 80% conservative Christian denominations. Jamaica boasts that it has the most churches per square mile of any country in the world.
Rastafarians are a minority religion in Jamaica, perhaps 5% of the population. They believe in the Old Testament of the Bible. They do not eat pork or shrimp per Old Testament teachings. The dreadlocks and beards are also from the Old Testament. The Rastafarians believe in the anti gay teachings of Leviticus 20:13.
LGBT people are discriminated against or despised in all the segments of Jamaican culture: Government, law enforcement, education, churches and in medical care.
The U.S., Canada and the U.K. grant asylum to LGBT people from Jamaica. Gay people are even set on fire or burned alive in their homes in Jamaica. People with AIDS have been “necklaced.”
(The word “batty” means “butt” in Jamaican Patois. “Batty man” is a derogatory term for a gay man in Jamaica and the Caribbean. We translate “batty man” or “batty bwoy” as “faggot.”)
There’s more information about homophobia in Jamaica and the Caribbean and murder music and even more links at 20 Years of Musical Mayhem
If two adult men have consensual sex in Jamaica, that is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison at hard labor. This law is rarely enforced.
Even though the law criminalizing adult consensual male-to-male sex in Jamaica is rarely enforced, it makes all gay men unindicted criminals, with devastating human rights abuse of Jamaican LGBT people.
There are no laws in Jamaica that criminalize sex between two consenting adult women. But many Jamaicans think that sex between consenting adult women is also illegal.
Lesbians are subjected to the same hatred, violent attacks and persecution in Jamaica that gay men are subjected to. Lesbians are also subjected to something called “Corrective Rape.”
A number of countries in the Caribbean, besides Jamaica, criminalize LGBT sex between consenting adults. LGBT people cannot even legally enter Trinidad & Tobago and Belize, though these laws are rarely enforced. Barbados and Guyana both have a life sentence penalty for consensual sex between two consenting adult men.
Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States all grant asylum to LGBT people from Jamaica and the Caribbean.
Homophobic Jamaican dancehall performer Beenie Man is scheduled to appear at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel in Providence, Rhode Island, on January 24th, 2013. The lesbian group Indigo Girls is scheduled to perform the next month, on February 26th, 2013.
Then on March 3, 2013, the LGBT friendly group Tenacious D, which features actor Jack Black with Kyle Gass.
The Indigo Girls and Tenacious D will perform on a stage where, a little more than a month before, someone who has written and performed a song, Mi Nah Wallah, in which he says he would like to cut the throats of all gay men performed.
To his credit, Beenie Man has tried to reach out to LGBT people over the past year.
We encourage free speech and defend everyone’s right to express unpopular points of view. But we don’t permit hate speech (speech which attacks or demeans a group based on race or ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, age, veteran status, and sexual orientation/gender identity)
Grinded Nig is a truly disgusting neo-Nazi/white supremacist band.
This video pretty clearly violates YouTube’s “Community Guidelines.” Watch the video while looking at the lyrics to see for yourself.
If you agree, please flag the video on YouTube.
At least two prior versions of this song have already been removed from YouTube after being flagged.
Grinded Nig had a song on the “Smashing Rainbows: Rock Against Homosexuality” CD from the neo-Nazi “Fetch the Rope Records.” The song title is “Torture & Humiliation.”
Please watch this video “Buju Banton – Boom Bye Bye.” First understand the lyrics and then “dislike” the YouTube video if you feel like it!
Buju Banton’s Very Controversial, Homophobic song “Boom Bye Bye”
Jamaican dancehall performer Mark Myrie is known worldwide as “Buju Banton.”
Sometime in August 2012, Buju Banton’s song “Boom Bye Bye” passed the 20th anniversary of the date of its release in the U.S., the U.K. and the world. This catchy song was sent to discos and dance clubs all over the U.S. and the U.K. Many of these clubs were LGBT clubs which played the song.
“Boom Bye Bye” calls for gay men to be shot in the head, shot with an Uzi, have acid splashed on them and then to be burned like an old tire or necklaced.
“Boom Bye Bye” is very popular in Jamaica and the Caribbean, although it cannot be played on Jamaican radio. The song has been very controversial over the past 20 years in Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and countries in Europe where LGBT people have gained some acceptance and legal protections. The song has more than eight million views on YouTube.
The lyrics for “Boom Bye Bye” are posted here: Boom Bye Bye Lyrics. If you would like to see the lyrics with a translation from the Jamaican Patois look here: Dancehall Dossier.
To understand the lyrics of “Boom Bye Bye,” you must know that “batty man” and “batty bwoy” are derogatory terms for a gay man in Jamaican Patois. Whenever you hear “batty bwoy” in “Boom Bye Bye” substitute any common derogatory slur for “gay.” (The word “batty” in Jamaican Patois means “butt.” So “batty man” means “butt man” and “batty bwoy” means “butt boy.”)
Listen for this line in the song: “Rude bwoy no promote no nasty man / Dem haffi dead.” This is a line that clearly refers to gay men. “Dem haffi dead” means “they [gays] have to die.” The line is repeated ten times in the song.
There are several early, live versions of “Boom Bye Bye,” performed by Buju Banton, on YouTube, that contain the line, in clear English: “murder batty bwoy.” This line is not in the 1992 international release of the song. (The “murder batty bwoy” line is replaced by the line: “shoot di batty bwoy . . . ” in the 1992 international release.) You can hear this “murder batty bwoy” line on YouTube videos Buju And Shabba Contreversy and Buju Banton live in Jamaica 1992 (2/2).
“Boom Bye Bye” was almost immediately controversial in the U.S. and the U.K. after it was released in August 1992. This YouTube video shows some of the reaction: boom bye bye buju banton interview. Over all these years and after all of the criticism and controversy over “Boom Bye Bye,” Buju Banton has never distanced himself from the “kill LGBT” message of the song. In fact, he has defended the song.
Buju Banton’s Arrest and Convictions on Drug-Trafficking Conspiracy Charges
Buju Banton, whose real name is “Mark Myrie,” is currently serving a 10 year term in U.S. federal custody after his conviction and sentencing on charges of “conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms (11 pounds) or more of cocaine and using a telephone to commit a drug offense.” He is scheduled to be released on January 3rd, 2019 Mark Myrie – BOP Inmate Locator.
Buju Banton appealed his 10 year sentence in February 2012. The U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Georgia, upheld Buju’s 10 year sentence on June 21st, 2012. The appeals court also reinstated the firearm charge conviction that had been thrown out at his original sentencing. Because the firearm charge was reinstated, Buju is expected to have an additional five years added to his sentence. On August 8th, 2012, Buju was denied a new trial by the original trial judge, James S. Moody.
A sentencing hearing was scheduled for Buju Banton (Mark Myrie) on 10/30/12, but the hearing has been postponed. Buju’s new lawyers, Chokwe Lumumba and Imhotep Alkebu-Ian are asking for a new trial for Buju because a juror from his February 2011 trial, Ms. Terri Wright, told a newspaper that she did online research against the judge’s orders. Buju’s lawyers are also asking for a reduced sentence for Buju.
The forewoman of the jury that convicted Buju Banton on three charges on 02/22/11, Ms. Terri Wright, brought her computer hard drive into court on 02/19/13. An expert hired by Buju Banton examined the hard drive and found no trail of misconduct on the part of Ms. Terri Wright. But Terri Wright’s lawyer told the Tampa Bay Times that Ms. Wright’s computer was a laptop. The drive examined by Buju’s computer expert was from a desktop computer. Terri Wright’s lawyer sent an email saying that she “misspoke.”
There is an intense climate of homophobia and extreme violence against LGBT people in Jamaica and the Caribbean. In Jamaica and most other Caribbean countries, sex between consenting adult male same-sex couples is a felony. In Jamaica, the sentence can be up to 10 years at hard labor. The law is rarely enforced, but it essentially makes all gay men in Jamaica unindicted criminals. Homophobia is extreme and pervasive in Jamaica with most Jamaicans supporting the laws that criminalize adult male-to-male sex. In Jamaica, many take Leviticus 20:13 literally.
There are no laws in Jamaica that criminalize same-sex sex between consenting adult women. But many Jamaicans think lesbian sex is criminalized, too. Lesbians are subjected to discrimination, persecution, assaults and lynchings just like gay men as well as “corrective rape.”
He [Buju Banton] went on record with a song. He made a public statement — a statement of violence and murder against gays. If you go on record, it’s the record unless you say something to change it. You can’t just say, ‘That was year’s ago.’ We can’t just assume he’s different now unless he says so. And he’s never come out and said the song was a mistake, or that he now believes that killing gays is wrong. His reluctance to do that says as much as anything.
Quote from Thomas Soule of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, 2009
Below are links that lead to a lot of information about “Boom Bye Bye,” about Buju Banton (Mark Myrie) and other Jamaican murder music artistes, about the persecution of LGBT people in Jamaica and the Caribbean, some homophobic religious sects and cults, articles about Buju’s court trials and his lawyers legal efforts and about LGBT-related issues such as mental health, child molestation, are people “born gay,” etc.
“LGBT Asylum Seekers Win Life in U.S. After Persecution Abroad,” The Advocate, 11/21/12 http://bit.ly/Y2qPRS
“In search of a safer life – Jamaican homosexuals in the US missing home but not planning to return anytime soon,” Jamaica Gleaner, 12/23/12 http://bit.ly/VAo3DG
“Homophobia in Jamaica: A Study of Cultural Heterosexism in Praxis” Angela R. Allyn, Marlboro College, June 2012 http://bit.ly/Vlc3q7
“Jamaica: Silhouettes and Anonymous Sources” (“It is widely believed that being openly gay in Jamaica is essentially a death sentence.”), Micah Fink, Pulitzer Center, 04/20/10 http://bit.ly/11L3b2b
“Sexual Orientation and Human Rights in the Americas,” Andrew Reding, World Policy Institute, December 2003 http://bit.ly/Qc7v4P
“Jamaica’s Sodomy Law Gets First Legal Challenge” Care2.com 10/26/11 http://bit.ly/Vygyj1
“Gay Activist Takes Trinidad & Tobago Government to Court” AIDS-Free World 11/27/12 http://bit.ly/VvfFaP
“Puerto Rico slowly warms to more gay rights” Danica Coto, Miami Herald (Associated Press), 03/02/13 http://hrld.us/Z8QdEf
“Who is Buju Banton and why should LGBT people be concerned about him?” http://bit.ly/pBArPg
Time Magazine, April 12, 2006, “The Most Homophobic Place on Earth?” http://bit.ly/d2Xf20
“Jamaica: Fifty years without the liberty to love by J-FLAG and Amnesty International,” 05/17/2012 http://bit.ly/NFRxgq
“Public Health Ethics and the Law of the Land,” by Udo Schüklenk, Developing World Bioethics, Volume 11, Issue 1, pages iiiii, April 2011 http://bit.ly/LtvtRV
“Center Joins Jamaican Activists In Opposing Anti-GLBT Music,” Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center Vanguard (newsletter) April 2005 http://tinyurl.com/7eteesn
“Mapping Desire: Geographies of Sexuality,” “Shabba Ranks on ‘The Word’ TV Programme in the U.K. Early opposition to ‘Boom Bye Bye’ in the U.K. and the U.S. 1992 – 1993 http://tinyurl.com/6vq7hq7
“‘Battybwoys affi dead:’ Action against homophobia in Jamaica” Amnesty International 2004 http://bit.ly/lfBJm4
“All Gays Must Leave Today” (“Gay Eradication Day”) Jamaica Star Online 04/26/07 http://bit.ly/kQIPLf
“Cops save three alleged homosexuals from angry crowd” (mob of 2,000), Jamaica Observer, 02/15/07 http://bit.ly/VZ9uZN
“Pride weekend in Vancouver: Where do we go from here?” (Gareth Henry, 13 friends murdered), Xtra! Canada 07/29/10 http://bit.ly/U01fj8
Gareth Henry: Jamaican Gay Rights Activist on BBC Outlook 10/24/12 (Prominent Jamaican gay rights activist Gareth Henry tells us why he felt he had to flee his homeland. He now lives in Canada, from where he is working with the Human Dignity Trust to get the law criminalizing homosexuality in Jamaica changed) http://bbc.in/16LJwhs
Signed Reggae Compassionate Act Forms (Buju Banton, Beenie Man, T.O.K., Elephant Man, Sizzla and Capleton) http://bit.ly/buAKVi
“Don’t blame the music,” Dotun Adebayo, The Guardian U.K., 10/18/02 (Buju “almost lost his life in Jamaica after reports that his US record company had issued an apology on his behalf to the gay community [in 1992]“) http://bit.ly/hQy4Qp
Vybz Kartel, signed Reggae Compassionate Act form 09/22/10 http://bit.ly/gdfMR
GLAAD ad in Variety 01/29/10 opposing Buju’s 2010 Grammy nomination http://bit.ly/MxrAjv
Buju Banton allegedly attacks singer Mark Mohr with a knife, 07/04/95 http://bit.ly/ikAEc1
“Singer [Buju Banton] May Be Linked to Homophobic Attack” 08/20/04 http://bit.ly/bnLWFQ
What the magistrate told Buju Banton at his trial for assault 01/19/06 http://bit.ly/fKDEk3
Beenie Man sings that he wants to cut the throats of all gay men in Uganda 12/05/09 http://bit.ly/aJzNbQ
“The Kingdom in the Closet,” homosexuality in Saudi Arabia, May 2007 http://bit.ly/jyANLv
“South Africa The War of Blacks Against Blacks” (Necklacing) Time Magazine 06/24/01 http://ti.me/lewrG1
“Neo-Nazi Band’s West Side [Chicago] Appearance Canceled” Chicagoist 12/18/09 http://bit.ly/qWabnF
“Racist, Anti-Gay Band ‘Evil Incarnate’ Defeated Once AGAIN!” GLN Website 02/06/10 http://bit.ly/oAyVjJ
Neo-Nazi “Kill LGBT” Compilation CD “Smashing Rainbows: Rock Against Homosexuality” Removed from Amazon.com http://bit.ly/Smash_R
“Were Sodom and Gomorrah Really Torched for Homosexuality?” Huffington Post 07/26/10 http://huff.to/o8kPpo
“A History of Homophobia, 1 The Ancient Hebrews,” Rictor Norton 2002 http://bit.ly/ocFrL0
“HOMOSEXUALITY & THE HEBREW BIBLE,” Teachings of the Ecokosher Rebbe (Rabbi Gershon Steinberg-Caudill), http://bit.ly/NPZuhv
ABC News/Washington Post poll 05/23/12 “Strong Support for Gay Marriage Now Exceeds Strong Opposition” There is increasing support among African Americans for gay marriage http://abcn.ws/KxmrSf
Gallup Poll 05/14/12 “U.S. Acceptance of Gay/Lesbian Relations Is the New Normal” shows increasing acceptance of LGBT people and gay marriage http://bit.ly/LiEQUf
“False Testament: Archaeology refutes the Bible’s claim to history,” By Daniel Lazare, Harper’s Magazine, March 2002 http://bit.ly/Flse_Test
“Homosexuality in ‘Traditional’ Sub-Saharan Africa and Contemporary South Africa” An Overview by Stephen O. Murray http://bit.ly/Mvd6zF
“The Tomb of Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep,” website. Two men who were very close, circa 2400 BCE. http://bit.ly/X2hITs
San people rock art more than 2,000 years old from: “Encyclopedia of Gay Histories and Cultures” by George Haggerty (2000) http://bit.ly/RwzmtD
“Press Release – Major Gaps in Access to Care Are Impeding Progress in Reducing HIV/AIDS,” The Forum for Collaborative HIV Research 08/13/12 http://bit.ly/Q2Jx5q
“HIV among African Americans,” U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Infection http://1.usa.gov/RZANDi
“HIV in Black America: A Visual Breakdown (Infographic)” The Body Website, 03/14/13 http://bit.ly/ZVLAV3
“Racist Black Hebrew Israelites Becoming More Militant,” Southern Poverty Law Center, Intelligence Report, Fall 2008, Issue Number: 131 http://bit.ly/PIMu15
“Black Hebrew Israelites: New York’s Most Obnoxious Prophets,” Village Voice, 03/30/11 http://bit.ly/135ZbJc
“JAMAICA: TOWARD A QUEER PRAYER,” by Thomas Glave. Delivered, with some changes, at the Oslo Freedom Forum in 2011. http://bit.ly/147aAGE ( Watch YouTube video http://bit.ly/FRpgha )
“Boom Bye-Bye to Khaki: You Look Fabulous!” Vice Magazine, March 2011, gay influence on dancehall style http://bit.ly/13VamlK
“‘Jamaican lottery scam’ bilking senior citizens out of millions” Maine Sunday Telegram, 03/10/13 http://bit.ly/YLc3Bc
“400 deaths related to lottery scam, police say” Jamaica Observer, 11/14/12 http://bit.ly/14Dci5f
“Lottery Scam Bill passed – Bunting promises early prosecutions” Jamaica Observer, 03/27/13 http://bit.ly/10wXhv4
“Buju Banton Juror May Have Violated Court Orders: Grounds for a Mistrial?,” Broward-Palm Beach New Times, Chris Sweeney, 10/11/12 http://bit.ly/YbY9pc
“Buju Banton attorneys cite juror misconduct in request for new trial,” Tampa Bay Online 10/31/12 http://bit.ly/PmW7Cc
“Buju Banton’s defense alleges juror misconduct in mistrial request” Tampa Bay Online, Buju’s Evidentiary Hearing 12/20/12 http://bit.ly/WsBHaT
“Judge rescinds order to seize juror’s home computers in Buju Banton case,” Tampa Bay Times, 01/08/13 http://bit.ly/Y4EszC
“Judge orders search of juror’s computer drive in Buju Banton case,” Tampa Bay Times, 02/19/13 http://bit.ly/XLv41Z
“Search of Banton juror’s computer finds no trail of misconduct” Tampa Bay Times 03/26/13 http://bit.ly/16XLYT6
“Buju Banton juror must again face judge’s questions” Tampa Bay Times, 04/16/13 Jury forewoman Ms. Terri Wright and Mark Myrie must appear at the Sam. M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse in Tampa, Florida on 06/26/13 http://bit.ly/17pbUEv
“Criminal Law Capsule Summary – Chapter 22 ‘Conspiracy’,” LexusNexus http://bit.ly/PXyL3r
“Genes and Sexual Orientation” Brian Mustanski (Presentation, 2006) http://bit.ly/quEcxV
“How Many People are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender?” Gary J. Gates, The Williams Institute (UCLA), April 2011 http://bit.ly/MQnMtW
“Whom You Love: The Biology of Sexual Orientation.” Michigan State University speaker series. Every Monday from 09/10/12 to 12/10/12 http://bit.ly/SaTWkn
“OP-ED: Is It A Choice? A Scientist’s View” Dr. Dean Hamer in The Advocate 07/14/11 http://bit.ly/r24OBe
“The ‘choice’ myth about sexual orientation,” Ryan C. Ebersole, People’s World 02/16/12 http://bit.ly/NdOdWn
“Male Homosexuality Study: Gay Men Have Evolutionary Benefit For Their Families, New Research Suggests,” HuffPost Science, 06/12/12 http://huff.to/N2KtdA
“Is Sexual Orientation Innate?” Dennis McFadden, Huffington Post, 11/09/12 http://huff.to/USSGC5
“Sound and Sexuality,” Dennis McFadden, Lansing City Pulse, 09/19/12 http://bit.ly/VRC50c
“Mom’s Genetics Could Produce Gay Sons,” LiveScience, 02/24/06 http://bit.ly/OPe3kD
“Genomwide scan of male sexual orientation” Human Genetics 2005 http://bit.ly/KscTv5
“Lesbianism & Genetics: Female Sexual Orientation Partly Hereditary, But Erotic ‘Plasticity’ Still Unexplained,” Huff Post Science, 06/14/12 http://huff.to/OtSJFj
“Facts About Homosexuality and Mental Health” By Dr. Gregory Herek, http://bit.ly/if81Oj
“Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation” By Dr. Gregory Herek, http://bit.ly/ebD9il
“Facts About Changing Sexual Orientation” By Dr. Gregory Herek, http://bit.ly/ktKxU1
“Sexual Orientation: Science, Education, and Policy” Website of Dr. Gregory Herek, Professor of Psychology at the University of California at Davis. A great website. http://bit.ly/XQsApr
“Beyond ‘Homophobia’: Thinking About Sexual Prejudice and Stigma in the Twenty-First Century” By Dr. Gregory Herek. Sexuality Research & Social Policy, Volume 1 Issue 2, April 2004. History and problems of the word “homophobia” and some possible replacements. http://bit.ly/ZwlIZC
American Psychological Association, “Lesbian & Gay Parenting” http://bit.ly/kAaJD4
American Psychiatric Association, Fact Sheet: Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Issues, 2000 http://bit.ly/e3C3y0
“New research (1996) confirms that most homophobes are self-loathing, repressed homosexuals,” Peter Tatchell http://bit.ly/SlTVwT
“Is Homophobia Associated With Homosexual Arousal?” Henry E. Adams, et al, Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1996, Vol. 105, No. 3,440—445 http://bit.ly/Oct3gS
“The Ass Man Cometh – Experimentation, orgasms, and the rise of anal sex,” William Saletan, Slate 10/05/10 http://slate.me/Q132RB
“New Sex Statistics: 30% of Women Say They’ve Had Anal Sex,” Men’s Health, 03/03/11 http://bit.ly/R1sMw8
“The Neuroscience Behind Sexual Desire: Authors of A Billion Wicked Thoughts Answer Your Questions” Matthew Philips, Freakonomics website 05/17/11 http://bit.ly/XcnC2l
Jamaican dancehall artiste Beenie Man has had a long career of writing and performing songs that call for LGBT people to be killed. It looks like his career as a homophobe goes back to 1994 and the song “Bomb and Dynamite.”
Along with a number of Jamaican dancehall performers, Beenie Man’s visa to work in the U.S. was canceled back in April 2010. Over the years there have been numerous protests against Beenie Man in the U.S. and other countries. He has had many performances canceled because of community opposition to him.
As of July 2011, Beenie Man is able to work and perform in the U.S. His U.S. work visa has been restored.
In the YouTube video above, issued prior to touring in Europe in May 2012, Beenie Man says “. . . Listen to what I have to say. Let me make this clear and straight. I have nothing against no one . . . I respect each and every human being. Regardless of which race and creed. Regardless of which religious beliefs you believe in and regardless of which sexual preference you have, including gay and lesbian people. I respect all humans.”
He also says: “Do not fight against me for some song that I sing 20 years ago.” Below are four “kill LGBT” songs from the “Dancehall Dossier.” All of these songs were released in 2000 or later. The most recent song in the “Dancehall Dossier,” “Batty Man Fi Dead” (“Faggots Must be Killed”), was released in 2004.
He performed one of his infamous “kill LGBT” songs, “Mi Nah Wallah,” as recently as December 5th, 2009, in Kampala, Uganda (see reference below).
The description of Beenie Man’s YouTube “Video Statement” mentions that Beenie Man signed a Reggae Compassionate Act agreement in 2007. This was an agreement in which he agreed not to promote hatred and violence in his work or stage comments. What Beenie Man does not mention in the description of his YouTube “Video Statement” is that soon after signing a Reggae Compassionate Act agreement in 2007, he denied signing it. When he sang “Mi Nah Wallah,” in Uganda in December 2009, he also violated his RCA agreement.
Beenie Man’s “Video Statement” (above) is a step in the right direction for Beenie Man. But he is still a strongly homophobic man. He tends to mislead people about his history of performing “kill LGBT” songs (“Do not fight against me for some song that I sing 20 years ago”) and bringing up his Reggae Compassionate Act agreement without mentioning that he denied signing it, thus negating it.
On December 05, 2009, Beenie Man performed in Kampala, Uganda a song titled “Mi Nah Wallah.” In this song, he says he would like to cut the throats of all gay men. Beenie Man in Kampala, Uganda 12/05/09
Beenie Man was scheduled for the 2010 “Big Day Out” festivals in New Zealand and Australia. These dates were canceled in November 2009, before the Kampala, Uganda concert. See Beenie Man Pulled From Big Day Out 11/15/09
Beenie Man signed a Reggae Compassionate Act agreement in which he pledged not to promote hatred and violence. See Beenie Man’s Signed Reggae Compassionate Act Agreement March 2007 Weeks later he denied signing a RCA agreement. He certainly violated his RCA agreement in Uganda.
Beenie Man has a history of writing and performing material that calls for LGBT people to be killed. Here are lines from some of his songs from the DANCEHALL DOSSIER
Some “Kill LGBT” Songs by Beenie Man
Beenie Man – Han Up Deh
Hang chi chi gal wid a long piece of rope
Hang lesbians with a long piece of rope
Beenie Man – Damn
I’m dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays
I’m dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays
Beenie Man – Batty Man Fi Dead (Queers Must Be killed)
(aka ‘Weh U No Fi Do’)
All batty man fi dead!
All faggots must be killed!
From you fuck batty den a coppa and lead
If you fuck arse, then you get copper and lead [bullets]
Mavado at Reggae Sumfest 2008 Photo by Psycler – Creative Commons
Jamaican dancehall performer Mavado doesn’t get as much attention as a “kill LGBT” performer as other artistes such as Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Elephant Man, Capleton, and Sizzla. (We also list I Wayne, an up-and-coming dancehall artiste, as a “kill LGBT” performer.)
Mavado is more known for the violence of his lyrics and as a result he has been banned from several Caribbean countries such as Guyana, St Vincent, and the Grenadines in 2008. There have been reports of violence at his concerts and claims that he “incited violence” at concerts in Guyana in 2010.
Mavado has called himself the “Gangsta for Life” after the name of one of his albums.
Mavado has had problems getting a visa to work in the U.S. in the past.
Mavado was unable to obtain a Canadian work visa so he could appear at the Montreal International Reggae Festival 08/20/11.
In April 2010, Mavado and a number of the other Jamaican murder music performers such as Beenie Man and Bounty Killer had their U.S. work visas revoked. It is surprising that Mavado is the first of this group to have his work visa restored.
Mavado is identified as the Jamaican performer who bribed an assistant regional security officer for investigations at the U.S. embassy in Kingston, Jamaica, David J Rainsberger, to obtain a visa to work in the U.S. Rainsberger has plead guilty to the charges
(I’ve only been able to find a single line of the lyrics from “Batty Bwoy Termination”: “Battyboy Must Die, yeahyeahyeah, Lesbian Must Die, yeahyeahyeah, Sodomite Mus Die, yeahyeahyeah…”)
(Note: “Batty man” and “batty bwoy” are derogatory names for gay men in Jamaican Patois. “Batty,” in Jamaican Patois, means “butt.” So a “batty man” is a “butt man.” We usually translate “batty man” or “batty bwoy” as “faggot.”)
Mavado has never signed a Reggae Compassionate Act agreement This is an agreement not to promote hatred and violence. (A number of murder music artistes have signed Reggae Compassionate Act agreements and then have denied signing them or have violated their agreements, or both. Of the artistes listed in the “Dancehall Dossier,” only the group T.O.K. has complied, so far, with their Reggae Compassionate Act agreement.
Jamaica is a very, very religious country. In Jamaica, both male homosexuality between consenting adults and abortion are illegal. The Rastafari, particularly, are anti LGBT, anti abortion and anti birth control.
Suggested reading about extreme homophobia in Jamaica and “kill LGBT” Jamaican dancehall music:
(The word “batty” means “butt” in Jamaican Patois. “Batty man” is a derogatory term for a gay man in Jamaica and the Caribbean. We translate “batty man” or “batty bwoy” as “faggot.”)
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