Buju Banton may not be one of the nominees for the best reggae album 2009 Grammy award for much longer. Banton, whose 2009 roots reggae album Rasta Got Soul (his 9th release), is nominated in the 52nd annual Grammy awards, is the subject of protest campaign.
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), the United States’ lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, called on community members and allies to contact the Recording Academy and sign an online petition protesting the recent Grammy nomination of reggae singer Buju Banton’s album Rasta Got Soul, and urging Recording Academy members to not support his nomination.
You can see the petition at http://www.glaad.org/bujubantonpetition.
Change.org is hosting a form for concerned parties to contact the Recording Academy.
Jarrett Barrios, President of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), explains that:
Reggae singer Buju Banton’s anti-gay lyrics and the climate of hatred they create are a threat to the safety of gay and transgender people everywhere. In a climate of increased anti-gay violence in this country and Banton’s home country of Jamaica, it is deeply disappointing that the Recording Academy would choose to laud the work of a singer who has advocated violence against the gay community.
In a popular song released in 1988 entitled Boom Bye Bye, Banton repeats the anti-gay ‘f-word’ and says that “f—–s have to die” and he will “shoot them in the head” or “burn them.” The Associated Press has reported that the song Batty Rider from Banton’s 1993 record Mr. Mention glorifies the shooting of gay men.
In October 2009 Buju Banton was quoted in news reports as saying “This is a fight, and as I said in one of my songs ‘there is no end to the war between me and f—-t’ and it’s clear.”
“We call on the media to shine a spotlight on Banton’s history of anti-gay lyrics in coverage of this year’s Grammy Awards as well as the Recording Academy’s decision to honor him without taking steps to ensure his future career is not marked with promoting violence,” said Barrios.
GLAAD also successfully campaigned Clear Channel to withdraw its sponsorship of 2007 Reggae Carifest featuring Banton and Bounty Killer. The concert continued in a smaller venue without it’s sponsorship.
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[...] such as The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which recently launched an online petition protesting his reggae Grammy nomination due to past songs that advocate violence against gay people, specifically his dancehall song Boom [...]