Black Music Council Defends DJs
Jamaica
Gleaner, December 12, 2004
By Alicia Roache, Staff Reporter
AMIDST THE screams of homophobia in
dancehall music by gay and human rights groups there has been, it seems, a
deafening silence from the deejays on the issue.
If silencing the deejays was the objective, it would seem
that the gay rights groups have achieved their objective. But even though they
have not presented a united defence in the face of the accusations, a
resistance is being mounted on their behalf by the seemingly unrelated Black
Music Council in the United Kingdom.
The Black Music Council (BMC) was, according to a release
sent to The Sunday Gleaner, “established to protect the rights of the eight
artistes placed on the Outrage hit list.” The eight artistes who were
initially on that list were Buju Banton, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Sizzla,
Capelton, Vybz Kartel and T.O.K. The group, according to Blacker Dread,
president, comprises “founders and members currently gathered from the Black
Music fraternity.” Though no local members were individually named, Blacker
Dread explained that the council is “in the process of speaking to certain
individual artistes.”
However, he specified that Buju Banton and Capleton are
two of the artistes with whom he has had discussions, and who expressed
interest in the activities of the group. “Buju called today to find out how
it’s going and see what else is happening,” he said on Thursday. Blacker
Dread says that the next step is to meet with the other artistes to discuss a
way forward.
That seems a necessary step now. According to Blacker
Dread, the effect of the campaign against reggae music by Outrage and other
bodies extends to almost everyone involved in the music industry, including
club owners and managers. “Dancehall music and reggae have been taken off
the shelves of the High Street stores, which are white owned,” he said.
“Some clubs ban reggae music,” he added. “They don’t want reggae to be
played in there.”
In addition, he says the effect of cancellations on show
promoters in the UK “has been devastating”, sending at least one club,
‘Ocean’s Club’ in Hackney, into bankruptcy.
THE LOSS
Peter Tatchell of Outrage, in an interview with The
Guardian published on December 10, 2004, estimates the loss to the singers,
promoters and venues from the effects of his campaign to be “in the region
of 5 million pounds.” The report, by Alexis Petridis, noted that “since
July, 30 U.S. concerts by Beenie Man have been cancelled, as have several U.S.
concerts by Capleton, a Scandinavian tour and four other European dates by
Buju Banton, two U.K. tours and a San Francisco show by Sizzla, two European
dates by Bounty Killer and a ‘Reggae in the Park’ festival, scheduled to
be held at the Wembley Arena.”
However, spurred by these cancellations, accusations of
human rights violations, criminal investigations and what the council calls
“a spate of spurious accusations,” the Black Music Council has come out in
strong defence of the artistes.
Among the most recent accusations are those made by
British Government Minister for International Development, Gareth Thomas, that
reggae and dancehall artistes are contributing to the spread of AIDS. The
minister told a CARICOM conference, ‘Champions for Change’, in St. Kitts
that “a number of artistes are effectively contributing to the spread of HIV
by producing reggae and rap songs actively encouraging discrimination against
those who have AIDS and encouraging violence towards minority groups, such as
men who have sex with men.” Thomas referred specifically to Buju Banton and
Sizzla Kalonji as artistes who use phrases like ‘battyboys’ and
‘queers’ as “a cheap effort to gain notoriety and sell records.”
REPORT
However, in a report ‘Minister says Reggae helping to
spread HIV’ carried on the BMC website, www.blackmusiccouncil.com
on November 24, Doctah X, vice-chair of the BMC, said the minister’s report
was an act of collusion and an “attack on the black community and their
religious and social beliefs.” In his opinion, Jamaica and reggae are being
targeted “because they are easy targets in comparison to other countries
with strict anti-gay laws.” He gave Saudia Arabia as an example of one such
country where homosexuality is a crime punishable by beheading.
But while the gay campaign has gained momentum, and
relative success, it has sacrificed a lot of its credibility. Because while
Peter Tatchell campaigned successfully to have Sizzla denied entry to Britain
in November, when he compared the artiste to Adolf Hitler he caused many to
question his agenda and his lucidity. In an interview with BBC’s Today
programme, Tatchell stated that allowing Sizzla into Britain would be like
letting in Hitler.
Even though Sizzla signed a document guaranteeing he
would not sing homophobic lyrics while in the U.K., Tatchell maintained in the
radio interview that “it would be a bit like inviting Adolf Hitler to
Britain in 1939, so long as he promised not to kill any more Jews.” He went
on to say that the lyrics in reggae songs were “anthems to real life
killings.”
MURDER
Unlikely as it is that Sizzla’s music may have
contributed to the murder of six million gay people, he went on to add
“that’s why we’ve had to seek the concert cancellations. It’s the only
way to defend gays and lesbians in Jamaica from the mass murder they are
suffering.”
“He’s gone over way over the top. It’s simply
racist to put Hitler and Sizzla in the same bracket and just shows how far he
is prepared to go,” said Blacker Dread.
The performers themselves have responded by being either
dismissive of or resistant to the pressure. Some won’t talk about it, while
others like Sizzla routinely resist all requests for an apology. Beenie Man
and Vybz Kartel have since recorded songs in defiance of the campaign.
But songs and chant are not enough to properly tackle the
situation. As Blacker Dread noted, “it needs more cooperation among the
reggae music industry, as there is a huge division among industry players.
What the reggae industry needs is one collective voice speaking on behalf of
reggae. We, the Black Music Council, believe that reggae and dancehall should
not be separated, as this is a classic case of divide and rule.”
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