House of Blues canceled concert by homophobic reggae singer, but new promoter arranges new venue
Dallas’ House of Blues last month canceled a scheduled concert, originally set for this month, by reggae artist Buju Banton after controversy over the singer’s blatantly anti-gay and violent lyrics. Due to pressure from gay rights advocate groups across the country, LiveNation dropped the tour and Banton’s concert itinerary looked finished.
However, Banton’s trip to Dallas is back on after promoter Tony Gold booked Banton to perform at the Palm Beach Club in Deep Ellum on Tuesday, Oct. 20. The announcement of the rescheduled appearance has prompted further protests from the local LGBT community.
Resource Center Dallas released a statement on Wednesday, Oct. 7 calling for quick action from the LGBT community to ensure the concert does not happen.
“It’s really unfortunate this venue booked him. I don’t think any place would host a performer who stood up and made equivalent statements against African-Americans, Asians or women,” RCD Associate Executive Director Cece Cox said.
“This shouldn’t be offensive to just GLBT people. This is someone using their profession to incite violence against people. Nothing that he says is acceptable,” she said.
“We want a welcoming neighborhood here. Having an artist come here with a message of hatred is not something we can stand behind. We don’t want to be the thought police but at the same time we want people to know that’s not the kind of stuff we’re throwing down,” Sean Fitzgerald said. Fitzgerald is president of the Deep Ellum Community Association that works to maintain a creative and open neighborhood.
The RCD is encouraging people to contact the club and ask respectfully “why they are promoting hate by booking this performer” and then requesting the club to cancel the show. RCD officials are also pointing to the Web site, CancelBujuBanton.wetpaint.com, as a resource of information on Banton’s homophobic lyrics and music.
RCD is working with Equality March Texas on efforts to cancel the show. Should the concert go through, both parties say they are ready to respond.
“We’re basically giving them until the 16th. We’re looking at protests as a last resort, but Equality Texas is prepared to do so,” Equality March Texas co-founder Daniel Cates said.
Calls to the club have not been returned. However, their answering machine message says the club does not open until 9 p.m. Thursday evening, and the RCD had just received word about the show earlier this week.
Banton was scheduled to perform in Hollywood’s Cabana Club Thursday, Oct. 8, but the show was canceled after protests by the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center.
Banton is infamous for his 1988 song “Boom Bye Bye” which promotes shooting “batty boys” in the head with an Uzi. “Batty boys” is slang for gay men.
Reggae music was under pressure to denounce anti-gay lyrics from artists and the Reggae Compassionate Act was created in 2007 by the Canadian-based Stop Murder Music campaign. Artists would then not perform songs promoting violence — especially toward the gay community.
The act was allegedly signed by Banton who later denied ever signing and continues to perform the song.
In 2004, he was believed to be involved in a gay-bashing of six men in Jamaica although he was never convicted. It has been alleged that authorities there conducted a sloppy investigation and colluded to protect the homegrown celebrity.
Banton has been known to yell out comments such as, “Faggots have to die,” and “There is no end to the war between me and faggots.”
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition October 9, 2009.
Buju Banton has never really distanced himself from the hateful calls for “killing gays” and shooting gays in the head, shooting gays with an Uzi, throwing acid in gay’s faces and burning gays like an old tire that are in “Boom Bye Bye.”
Buju Banton, did once make an apology, but he soon retracted the apology. Just as he signed and then denied that he signed the Reggae Compassionate Act. You can see his signed RCA form online at https://www.petertatchell.net/popmusic/reggaecompassionateact-bujubanton.htm
“Boom Bye Bye” can be downloaded from Amazon. It is also on YouTube with more than 1,569,000 views.
For videos that show Buju Banton reiterating the anti gay statements in “Boom Bye Bye,” see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46PASiOjdP4 “BUJU BANTON FIRE BURN BATTY” and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZ8Z0biU_Zw “Elephant Man Buju Banton Shabba Ranks” In the latter video he refers to the churches and asks “What have I done wrong when I say that homosexuality is wrong?”
In Jamaica, there is tremendous violence and hatred directed at LGBT people. Buju Banton and some of his dancehall artiste friends must bear some responsibility for this. There are online reports by groups like Amnesty International and many other reports of this extreme violence in Jamaica. One very good account is in this Time Magazine article: https://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1182991,00.html “The Most Homophobic Place on Earth?” Britain and Canada have given asylum to a number of Jamaican gay men because of the extreme homophobia and violence in Jamaica.
There is more information at https://cancelbujubanton.wetpaint.com/
I contacted the club at https://www.myspace.com/palmbeachclub, AND at palmbeachreggaeclub.com
and asked them to CANCEL Buju Banton or face eventual boycotts, and pressure on other performers NOT TO APPEAR at venues that promote Hate Speech.
Everyone should!
From the Palm City Myspace page:
The first line is what really really really bothers me:
10/20/2009 8:00 PM at PalmBeachClub/Trin-City
2816 Main Street Deep Ellum, Dallas, Texas 75226
Cost: 25.00
Let them Protest!!! Til Shiloh, The Majesty of Ragga of roots, rock, reggae!! Showing Dallas Love at the One and Only PalmBeachClub/Trin-City presents: Buju Banton, Advance tickets 25.00. Get your tickest before they sell out!!!
Buju,
Is a peaceful individual he is an artist with flair and class I love his shows and of course I have not heard him utter anything negative about gays and their lifestyle in years so leave the artist alone and let him eat food
Buju is not a peaceful individual, and donman is not an honest individual. They are both human rubbish. The GLBT community in dallas should do all it can to put palmbeach club OUT OF BUSINESS!
If you “have not heard him [Buju Banton] utter anything negative about gays and their lifestyle in years,” watch the YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46PASiOjdP4 “BUJU BANTON FIRE BURN BATTY” videotaped in December 2007 in Jamaica.
You will easily hear Buju say: “There is no end to the war between me and faggots.” But listen closely for his comments on “booty suckers,” “buttocracy,” and seeing gays everywhere, including SpongeBob and Beavis and Butt-head.
Buju Banton comes from an extremely anti LGBT culture and has an extremely anti LGBT religious background. The kind of religious background that calls for execution of gays.
Gays and Lesbions going on like they rule the world.If they do’nt like the man’s lyrics they should push an ear plug up in their ears and dont go where he is performing.Leave other people who want’s to listen to him to do so.They should also stop their lie about gay murders in Jamaica.People who leave Jamaica under the guise of “persecution of gays” are just economic refugees trying to take advantage of the anti gay sentiments been promoted by these gay people outside of Jamaica.
Buju Banton may not sing “Boom Bye Bye” as often as he once did. But the song is easily available on compilation CDs and by download from Amazon. Most of Buju’s fans know this song by heart.
“Boom Bye Bye” is a call for vigilante action against gays. This is a call that is too often heeded in Jamaica and elsewhere.
uh, yeah, Dennis, gays and lesbians don’t want to “rule the world”, we just want to be left ALIVE by all of the jamaican haters. Buju be damned.
Jamaica=Hate=why your country is so poor and uneducated. It is a vicious loop that you will never get out of until you STOP THE HATE!