http://news.yahoo.com/s/a...u_banton_5

Hate to see Buju go out like this

I have next to no sympathy for homophobes.

Nikademus said:

I have next to no sympathy for homophobes.

"In Jamaica, some fans have theorized Banton was framed by the U.S. government or gay activists who have protested violent, homophobic lyrics from early in Banton's career as a brash dancehall singer. Shows in several U.S. cities were canceled on his 2009 tour because of the protests.

Banton jabbed at his detractors during his Jan. 16 performance in Miami, referencing one of his controversial songs and the messiah of his Rastafarian faith.

He said: "Why they want to see Buju Banton cry? Is it because I said 'Boom Bye Bye'? Is it because I say Selassie I? Is it because I'm black and not shy?"

====================

UUUUUUUUUUM... i could get with the being framed by the government thing, but being framed by people who are openly calling you out on saying to KILL GAY PEOPLE??!! give me break. you see how he's trying to make a song out of it...? "Why they want to see Buju Banton cry? Is it because I said 'Boom Bye Bye'? Is it because I say Selassie I? Is it because I'm black and not shy?"

you don't see most artists who claim rasta professing homophobia all over their songs. get out of here with that, buju. YOU WISHED FOR THE DEATH OF PEOPLE YOU HAPPEN TO NOT AGREE WITH, DUE TO THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION. how exactly is this GOD-LIKE?

I believe at one time he was showing some remorse, the song is almost 20 years old and he had not sung it in years, but gay activist kept fighting to ruin his career and all his concerts cancelled so I think he felt the need to do some backlashing on his own. It's funny though he's not the only artist saying homophobic things, hip hop artist included yet he seems to be a sole major target.

As much as I love the positivity of reggae/dancehall, we can not overlook the fact that the entire culture has always been homophobic & anti-gay on certain occasions. BTW, had everyone heard of Bob Marley? He is still acknowledge as one of the original kings of reggae, and he was THE biggest homophobe in rock & roll history. And lets not forget about that time Bob blasted Prince for his gay-like fashion sense at the height of Prince's Dirty Mind era.

Keep in mind that reggae still has a connection with the classic Rastafari Movement. And that religious culture has never been kind to the LGBTs since day 1.

wonder505 said:

I believe at one time he was showing some remorse, the song is almost 20 years old and he had not sung it in years, but gay activist kept fighting to ruin his career and all his concerts cancelled so I think he felt the need to do some backlashing on his own. It's funny though he's not the only artist saying homophobic things, hip hop artist included yet he seems to be a sole major target.

i totally agree with you in some sense, about many artists being homophobic. ant i put those people on blast as well. but as this thread is about buju, i am calling him out.

i called this dude out for singing 'boom bye bye' a couple of weeks ago... the message still resonates with people. i think prince called people out too; wasn't there some controversy several times in his life, for supposedly making homophobic statements?

TonyVanDam said:

As much as I love the positivity of reggae/dancehall, we can not overlook the fact that the entire culture has always been homophobic & anti-gay on certain occasions. BTW, had everyone heard of Bob Marley? He is still acknowledge as one of the original kings of reggae, and he was THE biggest homophobe in rock & roll history. And lets not forget about that time Bob blasted Prince for his gay-like fashion sense at the height of Prince's Dirty Mind era.

Keep in mind that reggae still has a connection with the classic Rastafari Movement. And that religious culture has never been kind to the LGBTs since day 1.

Wow sorry to hear all of this about Buju, but you are right that this entire culture has been homophobic at one point or another, so why are folks only going after Banton? Regardless of a person's sexuality/lifestyle beliefs I hate to see a brother go down for stupidity

MJJstudent said:

"In Jamaica, some fans have theorized Banton was framed by the U.S. government or gay activists who have protested violent, homophobic lyrics from early in Banton's career as a brash dancehall singer. Shows in several U.S. cities were canceled on his 2009 tour because of the protests.

Banton jabbed at his detractors during his Jan. 16 performance in Miami, referencing one of his controversial songs and the messiah of his Rastafarian faith.

He said: "Why they want to see Buju Banton cry? Is it because I said 'Boom Bye Bye'? Is it because I say Selassie I? Is it because I'm black and not shy?"

====================

UUUUUUUUUUM... i could get with the being framed by the government thing, but being framed by people who are openly calling you out on saying to KILL GAY PEOPLE??!! give me break. you see how he's trying to make a song out of it...? "Why they want to see Buju Banton cry? Is it because I said 'Boom Bye Bye'? Is it because I say Selassie I? Is it because I'm black and not shy?"

you don't see most artists who claim rasta professing homophobia all over their songs. get out of here with that, buju. YOU WISHED FOR THE DEATH OF PEOPLE YOU HAPPEN TO NOT AGREE WITH, DUE TO THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION. how exactly is this GOD-LIKE?

Interesting conspiracy theories about this case Very controversial

wonder505 said:

I believe at one time he was showing some remorse, the song is almost 20 years old and he had not sung it in years, but gay activist kept fighting to ruin his career and all his concerts cancelled so I think he felt the need to do some backlashing on his own. It's funny though he's not the only artist saying homophobic things, hip hop artist included yet he seems to be a sole major target.

very true

TonyVanDam said:

As much as I love the positivity of reggae/dancehall, we can not overlook the fact that the entire culture has always been homophobic & anti-gay on certain occasions. BTW, had everyone heard of Bob Marley? He is still acknowledge as one of the original kings of reggae, and he was THE biggest homophobe in rock & roll history. And lets not forget about that time Bob blasted Prince for his gay-like fashion sense at the height of Prince's Dirty Mind era.

Keep in mind that reggae still has a connection with the classic Rastafari Movement. And that religious culture has never been kind to the LGBTs since day 1.

I haven't seen any reference besides the Prince thing that indicated that Bob was homophobic. Maybe I ain't looking right.

My cousin just married (well 7 months ago) a Jamaican dude she'd never really known before (this is a whole issue of discussion on its own ). Last week we were discussing some concerns about Jamaica on her facebook and I mentioned violence against gays and how I really had no interest in going over there (she just returned) until it was a slightly better climate for gays.

My cousin's hubby's sister's bf posted to me on her wall. Direct quote: "That's how we grow our children not to be GAYS like some Americans. Don't come here with it."

I told him I'd wish gay kids on him just as a twist of fate but that no kid deserves a fuckin moron for a parent.

I know it's un-pc to say,homophobia (the violent kind) seems to be a widely accepted/tolerated stance in Jamaican culture. Fuck that shit. No.

okay before yall go damning my culture , yes there is homophobia among many of the people, just as there is homophobia here still in the US and in hip hop culture, and many other parts of the world, and things thankfully, are improving, especially among the youth who, more and more people are becoming turned off especially by the violence against the innocent. There are alot of things that need improvments, but there is more to our rich culture than how some feel about gays. I have not been home in many years and I plan on going this summer.

[Edited 2/15/11 7:21am]

wonder505 said:

okay before yall go damning my culture , yes there is homophobia among many of the people, just as there is homophobia here still in the US and in hip hop culture, and many other parts of the world, and things thankfully, are improving, especially among the youth who, more and more people are becoming turned off especially by the violence against the innocent. There are alot of things that need improvments, but there is more to our rich culture than how some feel about gays. I have not been home in many years and I plan on going this summer.

[Edited 2/15/11 7:21am]

Of course there is a lot more to your culture. No one is (at least I'm not) saying otherwise. I'm merely commenting on the one aspect of discussion.

I come from a very homophobic background. Puerto Rico (my culture) only started having their Pride celebrations and being more open about the Equal Rights movement in the last decade and just last year that poor gay kid was decapitated.

I hope that great strides are made in Jamaica soon. These things take time.

To say that I don't want to set foot in an enviroment that might prove hostile towards me is not damning the whole culture.

johnart said:

wonder505 said:

okay before yall go damning my culture , yes there is homophobia among many of the people, just as there is homophobia here still in the US and in hip hop culture, and many other parts of the world, and things thankfully, are improving, especially among the youth who, more and more people are becoming turned off especially by the violence against the innocent. There are alot of things that need improvments, but there is more to our rich culture than how some feel about gays. I have not been home in many years and I plan on going this summer.

[Edited 2/15/11 7:21am]

Of course there is a lot more to your culture. No one is (at least I'm not) saying otherwise. I'm merely commenting on the one aspect of discussion.

I come from a very homophobic background. Puerto Rico (my culture) only started having their Pride celebrations and being more open about the Equal Rights movement in the last decade and just last year that poor gay kid was decapitated.

I hope that great strides are made in Jamaica soon. These things take time.

To say that I don't want to set foot in an enviroment that might prove hostile towards me is not damning the whole culture.

Okay I got ya!

wonder505 said:

okay before yall go damning my culture , yes there is homophobia among many of the people, just as there is homophobia here still in the US and in hip hop culture, and many other parts of the world, and things thankfully, are improving, especially among the youth who, more and more people are becoming turned off especially by the violence against the innocent. There are alot of things that need improvments, but there is more to our rich culture than how some feel about gays. I have not been home in many years and I plan on going this summer.

[Edited 2/15/11 7:21am]

I'm in agreement my son's father is Jamaican and I have never seen anything from him that suggest he is homophobic and I think it's wrong to just write off a whole group of folks cuz of the statements of some. With that being said I like me some Buju Banton

[Edited 2/15/11 8:15am]

My fav from Buju

Timmy84 said:

TonyVanDam said:

BTW, had everyone heard of Bob Marley? He is still acknowledge as one of the original kings of reggae, and he was THE biggest homophobe in rock & roll history. And lets not forget about that time Bob blasted Prince for his gay-like fashion sense at the height of Prince's Dirty Mind era.

I haven't seen any reference besides the Prince thing that indicated that Bob was homophobic. Maybe I ain't looking right.

Neither have I. Shaking His Damned Head at Prince's "Dirty Mind" wardrobe would not be enough for me to consider Marley homophobic. If there was something more than that, I haven't heard or seen it... yet.

Wow! That's fucked up!

Some rat drug informant is trying to ruin this man's life. Instead of locking people and spending hundreds of thousands of man hours and dollars on jailing them for selling, transporting, distributing drugs how about we put that money and time into prevention and getting people to not use drugs in the first place. No demand...no supply.