Buju Banton faces drug conspiracy charges
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•Reggae artist faces drug charges in Miami
Reggae artist faces drug charges in Miami
Buju Banton, the Jamaican reggae star whose anti-gay lyrics have drawn international criticism, is in a federal lockup in Miami, facing drug conspiracy charges.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents say Banton, real name Mark Anthony Myrie, has been in custody since Thursday and will soon be transferred to Tampa, where the U.S. Attorney is charging him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilos of cocaine.
Banton has homes both in Jamaica and Tamarac.
The Miami Herald's articles regarding reggae icon Buju Banton lack perspective and are devoid of historical and cultural context. Dance-hall artists like Buju Banton discuss a number of issues using violent terminology. They talk about killing competitors, their sexual partners, informers and homosexuals in their lyrics.
However, these lyrics are merely hyperboles and are not intended to be taken literally.
Just as Bob Marley's song I Shot the Sheriff did not incite violence against sheriffs, Banton's song Boom Bye Bye does not incite violence against gays and lesbians nor is there any evidence to support that claim.
•Gay-rights groups object to Miami concert by Buju Banton and Beenie Man
Gay-rights groups object to Miami concert by Buju Banton and Beenie Man
Several gay-rights groups are protesting a Halloween-night concert at a city of Miami-owned hall by Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton, whose hit song Boom Bye Bye advocates shooting gays in the head and setting them on fire.
``The message is that gay people's lives are cheap, and that harming gay people is OK,'' said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, a statewide gay-rights group calling for the concert to be canceled. ``Any time a message of violence and hatred against any group is put out there, it has to be challenged.''
Banton, with homes in Tamarac and Jamaica, could not be reached for comment. His South Florida promoter, Andrew Minott of Global Vybz Entertainment, says Banton, 36, stopped singing Boom Bye Bye years ago. ``He did that song they're referring to when he was 15 years old,'' Minott said. ``The song was forgotten about. Because they are making it a big issue, it's come to the forefront. Let sleeping dogs lie.''
•Censorship the wrong way to fight hatred
Censorship the wrong way to fight hatred
It is disheartening that some of our colleagues in the gay and lesbian equality movement have embraced censorship as a tactic to combat hate speech. In his Oct. 6 Other Views article, Songs of hate, George Byars calls on public officials to ban the Miami concert by Buju Banton and Beenie Man.
This is terribly short-sighted: Giving government the power to censor messages it thinks are dangerous never advances the cause of equality and freedom.
In Florida, we don't need to speculate about the dangers of letting government decide when to ban supposedly inflammatory messages. Only last year, a high school principal banned rainbow stickers and other expressions of support for gay rights because he thought that they caused students to think about sex rather than schoolwork. (He was stopped as a result of an ACLU lawsuit.)
•Controversial reggae star Buju Banton meets with gay leaders
Controversial reggae star Buju Banton meets with gay leaders
Facing a string of canceled concerts and protests by angry gay activists, Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton met with several gay leaders during a tour stop Monday in San Francisco.
``We didn't expect any concrete promises,'' California AIDS and gay-rights advocate Michael Petrelis says. ``We thought all we were going to get was a meeting, which was a good start. [We got] a promise to keep some dialogue going.''
San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty set up the 40-minute meeting with Banton, whose 1988 song Boom Bye Bye advocates shooting gays in the head and setting them on fire.
BY JACQUELINE CHARLES AND JAY WEAVER
jcharles@MiamiHerald.com
Buju Banton, the Jamaican reggae star whose anti-gay lyrics have drawn international criticism, is in a federal lockup in Miami, facing drug conspiracy charges.
Drug Enforcement Administration agents say Banton, real name Mark Anthony Myrie, has been in custody since Thursday and will soon be transferred to Tampa, where the U.S. Attorney is charging him with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilos of cocaine.
Banton has homes both in Jamaica and Tamarac.
While legions of dancehall reggae enthusiasts view Banton as one of the most prolific voices of Jamaica's poor masses, critics say he's a gay basher whose lyrics incite violence by calling for attacking and torturing homosexuals.
His song Boom Bye Bye, a dancehall hit released in the 1990s, advocates shooting gays in the head and setting them on fire.
As late as September, Banton's local management told The Miami Herald that the criticism of the star was unwarranted because he had stopped singing the song years ago. The song remains a hit among reggae DJs.
Still, such lyrics have made Banton one of the more controversial reggae artists, with angry gay activists this fall forcing the cancellation of a string of concerts by the artists during a U.S. tour that included a Halloween night concert in Miami.
Recently the firestorm ratched up after the Grammys announced that Banton's album Rasta Got Soul, released earlier this year, was up for an award.
Gay Men of African Descent and the National Black Justice Coalition joined with the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation in a petition drive protesting the nomination.
