After the debates over signing the controversial Reggae Compassionate Act, Buju Banton via Gargamel Music Inc., and signed by Traci McGregor, president of Gargamel Music, has stated he does not condone the violence against gays. Buju wants to shed the bad image that has come upon him due to Boom Bye Bye. Whatever, keep reading for more.
Indeed a young Buju Banton wrote the incendiary anti-gay tune “Boom Bye Bye” back when he was a mere 15 years old. Penned in response to a widely publicized man/boy rape case in Jamaica, it caused a furor in the states when it was re-released four years later in 1992. For the record, he had not performed the song since the early nineties and regularly speaks out against violence - against all people. “I was a child when I wrote those lyrics,” Buju admits. “But let me make it clear that I do not encourage or condone violence towards any human being, and that includes our gay brothers and sisters.” Last year, when Buju once again found himself the target of a new generation of gay activists, he utilized two lines from “Boom Bye Bye” only as a springboard to discuss the enduring persecution he has faced because of the song and to assure his fans just how much he has evolved since. Yet certain factions of the gay community have continued to use it against him in an attempt to discredit him in the media.
Those who have followed Buju Banton’s artistic development and have actually listened to his entire body of work, know of his prodigious growth into one of the world’s most prolific singer/songwriters - one whose consistently positive messages of peace, love and spiritual enlightenment are never lost in the music.
Buju Banton’s love for humanity is not just demonstrated in words but also in deeds. Twelve years ago he responded to the AIDS crisis in Jamaica by launching Operation Willy, an organization focused on raising monies for HIV positive babies and children who lost their parents to the disease. For the past three years he served as spokesperson for Upliftment Jamaica, a US-based non-profit committed to working with underprivileged youth in Jamaica.
Buju and his Shiloh Band have played all around the world over the past 15 years, and the song has not been a part of his performance. His culturally diverse fan base - which, no doubt includes gay people - spans the Caribbean, North and South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East. For them, he is not simply an artist; he is a very necessary voice.
