Buju Banton
Categories: 1973 births | Reggae musicians | Dancehall musicians | Jamaican musicians | Jamaican songwriters | LGBT rights opposition | Male singers | Cannabis
Buju Banton (born Mark Myrie 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall and ragga singer. He was born in a slum near Kingston, Jamaica called Salt Lane. "Buju" is a common nickname for chubby children; it means breadfruit. "Banton" is a Jamaican word referring to someone with a superior attitude, but was also the name of a local artist (Burro Banton) that Buju watched as a child.
He is one of the most popular musicians in Jamaican history, having hit the charts there suddenly in 1992, with "Bogle" and "Love Me Browning/Love Black Woman", both massive hits in Jamaica and less so abroad.
His reputation has suffered internationally for his gay bashing lyrics and pending criminal charges for assault.
His lyrics to "Boom Boom Bye Bye", state:
- The world is in trouble
- Anytime Buju Banton come
- Batty boy get up and run
- ah gunshot in ah head man
- Tell dem crew… it’s like
- Boom bye bye, in a batty boy head,
- Rude boy nah promote no nasty man,
- them hafi dead.
Batty boy is a Jamaican slang term meaning a gay man. Many allege that the song's lyrics are homophobic and advocate violence against gay men [1] [2] [3] [4]. Homosexual behavior is illegal in Jamaica, where police and other authorities are often complicit and sometimes directly engaged in violence against Jamaican gays [5]. Banton, who had just signed to Mercury Records, was forced by his label to issue a statement; nevertheless, he refused to apologize and cited his Rastafarian religion as the basis for his beliefs. Banton still performs the song, notably at the Smirnoff Festival in Negril, Jamaica 8 August 2004.
Buju has since begun supporting AIDS education and released a song called "Willy (Don't Be Silly)" (1993; The Voice of Jamaica), promoting the use of condoms.
Till Shiloh (1995) was an influential album, using a studio band instead of synthesized music, and marked a shift away from dancehall towards roots reggae for Banton. It also included a single called "Murderer" which condemned the violence in Jamaican dancehall music, inspired by the murders of dancehall musicians Panhead and Dirtsman. The song inspired several clubs to stop playing songs with excessively violent subject matter. Inna Heights (1997) substantially increased Banton's international audience.
In March 2003 he released Friends for Life, which featured more sharply political songs.
Criminal charges of cannabis cultivation and gay bashing
On April 5 2004 Banton was fined the equivalent of US$9000 for the possession and cultivation of cannabis after 2 mature marijuana plants were discovered growing at his studio in December 2003 [6]. In July of 2004, the Guardian Unlimited published an article that Jamaican Police were seeking Banton after an armed attack on gay men in Kingston. According to the published article, Banton was allegedly one of a group of about a dozen armed men who forced their way into a house in Kingston on the morning of June 24 and beat the occupants while shouting anti-gay slogans and insults, according to the victims, two of whom were taken to hospital. [7]
The follow month various news sources began publishing the content [8] of a letter allegedly issued to Buju Banton dated August 19 by Amnesty International's Programme Director of the Americas, International Secretariat, Susan Lee.
By September 2004 reports that an arrest warrant was issued by the Jamaican police for Banton for the incident widely circulated in the general press [9] [10]. The actual status and exact nature of the charges were unclear: as of May 2005 no reports of the arrest warrant being executed had been published, nor had there been any reports citing the resolution of the charges, though Banton was dropped from several US and UK and German concerts over the controversy.
On October 1 2005 Banton appeared in Court and had his $50,000 bail extended. According to the Jamaica Observer [[11]], he had appeared in court with his attorney to have his bail conditions altered to allow him to work. He had previously been required to report to the Constant Spring Police Station three times weekly, the Magistrate reduced this to once per week. He has plead not guilty to the charge. He is due to return to court on 19 October 2005 to answer the charge.
See also
External links
- Photo-Feature @ reggaephotos.de
- "Boom Bye-Bye in a Batty Boy Head: Reggae Icons, Jamaican Culture, and Homophobia" by Melissa Henry
- Faces assault charges
- What Happened to "One Love"? Prejudice and Homophobic Violence in Jamaica Outfront newletter. Amnesty International (Acrobat pdf file)de:Buju Banton