Buju Banton’s song Boom Bye Bye was a hit to the gay community. Although the song was not deemed fit for radio airplay in Jamaica (where it was created), it was played frequently in Dancehalls, where it rose to the top of the charts. For there it was exported to the US and world-wide. The song was seen as advocating violence against the gay community – with lyrics about hitting the ‘batty boy’ in the head. There was an increase in the amount of violence toward gays – on an international scale. Gay advocates in New York did not try to ban the song from the radio, but simply to generate awareness and force stations to take responsibility for playing it. As for Buju Banton, he seemed to think his words did not affect people – and that he was not responsible/ did not help to generate these harsh feelings. Also, it is interesting to note that in Jamaica, it is illegal to be gay. A professor(?) told a story that showed if someone is found to be gay, they will usually be killed – her story mentioned being beat by a mob int he market place. The film closed with a sad statement about how maybe oneday it will be okay for gays to live in Jamaica, freely. But for now there are serious repercussions.
Laura Oxford
December 4, 2007 at 10:09 pm
By the way, for those of you who weren’t in class, apparently they did pull the song in the US after boycotts. FYI… Good luck tomorrow!!
December 5, 2007 at 1:41 am
It is really interesting to me that it was it was only this song that got a rise of negativity from the gay community. Jamaican dance hall music is especially known for gay bashing. The fact that it is outlawed in Jamaica is clearly the reason the writers of the music feel it is acceptable and it wont affect anyone. I think it is important that music spreads to other places so that reactions to the music can be vocalized and the writers of the music can see that it does affect people negatively.
Jennifer Nash