“Hey, hey, ho ho, homophobia’s got to go”. That’s what you would have heard walking by the Rockit Room on Clement Street near 5th Avenue tonight.
About twenty protesters came out to show their opposition to tonight’s headline act, reggae artist Buju Banton. Banton is in the upper eschelon of reggae performers, but he’s most known for his incendiary lyrics that advocate violence and murder against gays and lesbians.
In his 1988 song “Boom Boom Bye”, Banton created controversy with lyrics like “Shoot di batty boy come if we shot dem” and “Guy come near we, then his skin must peel, burn him up bad like an old tire wheel”. Batty boy is a Jamaican Patois slur used to describe gay, bisexual and effeminate men. Though Banton seldom performs the song abroad, at home in Jamaica in 2007 he yelled “There is no end to the war between me and faggots” during a performance. At a New York performance that same year, organizers cut off his mic as he went into the song (video).
Banton claims to have become a Rastafarian and reformed himself. But his anti-gay actions continued in 2004 when a gay assault victim identified Banton as his attacker; the victim lost his left eye. Banton was arrested after pressure from Human Rights Watch but was later released as witnesses were too scared to testify.
As a result of Banton’s controversial, anti-gay lyrics, many of his U.S. concerts have been cancelled. Just two days ago, The Regency Ballroom on Van Ness cancelled his show. Due to an outcry around Banton’s lyrics promoting attacks on LGBT people, promoters AEG Live and Live Nation, Inc., two of the largest concert promoters in the world, canceled their shows on Buju Banton’s US tour. And what was supposed to be a concert in San Jose tomorrow was also cancelled by the club’s owners. Over half of Banton’s U.S. concerts are routinely cancelled when he tours due to his homophobic lyrics and promotion of violence against gays.
So why did the Rockit Room book Buju Banton? According to one representative of the club who came out to talk with the protesters, Banton is merely “a reflection of Jamaica” and its homophobic views (homosexuality is still illegal in Jamaica). It doesn’t mean that they, as a club, condone his views. Apparently the Rockit Room doesn’t consider itself a reflection of the artists it books.
In a double whammy to the LGBT community, Banton’s performance coincides with the 11th anniversary of the brutal onhealthy buy crestor murder of gay teen Matthew Shepard. Several of the protesters at the Rockit Room had been at a Castro Street rally in remembrance of Shepard earlier tonight. Pollo Del Mar, the “Queen of San Francisco Media” joined the Rockit Room protesters around 9:45pm.
The Rockit Room did ask Banton to meet with San Francisco officials and gay leaders prior to the show to help alleviate concerns about his concert (pic from meeting here). Supervisors Eric Mar and Bevan Dufty, along with Michael Petrelis, Rebecca Rolfe, and Andrea Shorter met with Banton and his agent at their Marin hotel this afternoon. I saw Mar at the Rockit Room tonight and he said that the meeting was productive but that Banton also said homophobia was “part of his faith”.
Tickets to Banton’s show tonight were $40. That’s high for any artist playing a venue like the Rockit Room. And while Banton is one of the top reggae artists, one fan attending the show said she has never paid more than $25 to see him perform. If the $40 ticket price was designed to keep the anti-Banton crew out of the show, it worked. Word on the street was that Banton is receiving a $5,000 guarantee for his performance tonight.
Despite the protests out front and healthy presence of SFPD, it looked like the concert would be sold out. When I left the venue at 10:40pm, Banton still had not arrived but at least 100 people had gone inside. I spoke with a few fans who were headed to the show. One young woman said she doesn’t like that part of his music, but chooses to see the good parts of his performance and go with that. “I know who I am” she said. When I asked her what she would do if he began singing anti-gay lyrics during a show she was at, she replied, “I wouldn’t dance. I would still stand there, but I wouldn’t dance”. Some fans out front were not familiar with Banton’s controversy, while others just said “Stop killing everybody’s buzz, man!”
As a Richmond District resident, I’m disappointed in the Rockit Room. They seemed out to make a quick buck tonight, artist reputation and public outcry be damned. I’ll think twice about going there for live music anytime soon.
Below is some video of the scene out in front of the Rockit Room tonight, as well as a short interview I did with Aaron Baldwin, one of the protesters.
Sarah B.
Shame on Rockit Room for condoning Banton’s discriminatory beliefs. They just lost my business.
It’s heartening to see our neighborhood protest this show/performer.
Go Richmond!
Sad on several counts. He makes money on views of hatred and is not that great of a musician either. Rockit room took the easy path for some bucks and had a lame explanation to boot.Kudos to the demonstrators who showed they have a hella lot more class and respect for themselves than to stoop to his level of advocating voilence!
I saw the beginning of the protest & didn’t stay to see the performer or his show. My question is, did anyone at the show get the impression that this man has truely taken responsibility for how dangerous his casual references to violence and gay bashing have been? If he wants us to believe he’s grown up and is a changed man, why is he not using his shows as opportunties to advocate for love and acceptance of queers & sexual minorities, particularly in Jamaca where homophobia is deeply entreched? My impression from the quotes I’ve heard from the meeting he had we Dufty, Mar & co., is that they really had no real levarage to apply to make him say or do anything before it was ok to proceed with the show. So, he could have left with the impression that if is was able to have a sold-out show in San Francisco, he doesn’t have to do or say anything different. Makes me very sad for queers in Jamaca & for the people who paid $40 to see him who don’t seem to get it.
@Rachel – Actually most of the protesters were not from the neighborhood. A few were from the Sunset but many were from the Castro. I think so much of this was last minute that the neighborhood really didn’t have time to react. Even the cops there said they knew nothing about the planned show/controversy. They came because of calls from nearby neighbors and businesses.
@QueerBystander – Yes, I think this is the crux of the issue. I am sure that he threw the words “batty boy” around during the show as many of songs include it. I asked one young woman who was going in what she would do if he sang a song like “Boom Boom Bye” during a concert she was at. “I wouldn’t dance to it” was her answer. “Would you still stand there?” “Yes, I would stil stand there, I just wouldn’t dance”.
So I really don’t think those attending gave it much thought. One pair of older ladies were very surprised to hear about the controversy, they appreciated the information. But they were still going to the show (and had free tickets to boot). One of them admitted not being able to really understand the words, she just likes the music. And honestly, there was so much weed smoking going on among attendees outside the club that I don’t think they were probably super alert as to what he would be singing about anyway.
I don’t have all the details from the meeting with Banton and the Supes and activists. I did chat with Eric Mar about it and he seemed sort of resigned that Banton was going to play. It seemed like one of those instances where we, as a city, wanted to chastise him and wag our finger, but no one would stick their neck out to the Rockit Room and shame them into cancelling the show. Banton is no doubt a homophobe – he claims it as part of his faith. So I guess he figures that as long as he doesn’t slam it in the face of US concertgoers, he can get away with it. Until all venues stop booking him, he’ll just keep on playing.
The SFWeekly is saying that activists led by Pollo Del Mar ran into the club and pepper sprayed the crowd. I’m pretty disgusted with the entire situation. Any progress that was made yesterday was sabotaged. I’m sickened.
@C, SINGS – Do you have a link to that story?
Unfortunately, yes. http://blogs.sfweekly.com/shookdown/2009/10/queer_activists_pepper_spray_b.php
Thanks for the link. That is really unfortunate; the demonstration when I was there was very peaceful and a lot of good dialogue was taking place. What’s interesting is you can’t really “storm” the floor easily since the venue is up on the second floor. So either they paid to get in and then caused a ruckus, or they had to storm by security to get up the lengthy flight of stairs.
How soon we’ll forget this whole incident, if we haven’t already. With the Wailing Souls comin’ in and ganja-smoking patrons, “Jah, mon, what boycott?” The Richmond Rockit “Rasta” Room did well.
Strange…It was peaceful when I rolled by, hence my compliment which I must now clawback. I did not hear any medical calls one might expect with pepper spray indoors with a crowd. I tried the link it was broken. Seems like the kind of thing the entertainment commission could look into. I do think the rights for everyone movement is MUCH stronger than an isolated incident on either side of the issue.
I was at the show and did not hear Buju use the term “Batty” or anything like it once. I commend Banton for meeting with LGBT leaders and believe it to be the first step in educating the Jamaican and Rasta community. During the show, Buju addressed the crowd saying that he is only for peace and love and does not not want to be a scapegoat for a song that he made 20 years ago. The pepper spray incident didn’t solve anything-violence, in any direction never does. This statement from him was on his label’s website:
“Throughout my travels as an artist, I have witnessed first hand the senseless atrocities being suffered by innocent people around the world and my heart goes out to them. I do not condone violence against anyone, including gays, and I have spent my career rallying against violence and injustice through music. At this point, I can only hope that my body of work speaks for itself and that anyone still offended by the lyrics of my youth will take the time to explore my catalog or come to one of my shows before reducing my character and entire musical repertoire to a single song.”
To be clear: I commend the LGBT leaders for meeting with Banton! It shows a bigness and a step towards peace that has to be respected.
Turns out the SF Weekly story was false. There was pepper spray but it had nothing to do with the protesters; they were long gone from the Rockit Room by then. You can read all the details at:
http://sfappeal.com/culture/2009/10/activists-call-sf-weekly-bloggers-coverage-of-banton-show-pepper-spraying-totally-untrue.php
Sarah B.
give rockit a break. they work hard to book acts so people like me can enjoy a drink in the neighborhood and not have to cab somewhere.
they do not condone gay bashing and as a matter of fact jeff, one of the owners is a bisexual so how can they be against homosexuality? if you choose not to listen to banton, then don’t. but why should rockit take the heat?
Buju Banton’s infamous song “Boom Bye Bye” says “gays must be killed’ and it calls for gays to be shot in the head, shot with an Uzi, have acid thrown in their faces and to be burned like an old tire. This song has been controversial since it was released in 1992.
In all those years, Buju Banton has never distanced himself from this song.
I don’t think Buju sang the song at the Rockit Room and usually doesn’t sing it in this country. He still is strongly anti gay. This is a video recorded in Jamaica in December 2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46PASiOjdP4 “BUJU BANTON FIRE BURN BATTY” This is the video with the line: “There is no end to the war between me and faggots.” There is more anti gay stuff in the video, but you have to listen closely to hear it. The video is intensely anti gay.
It is because of the protests and pressure that he has toned down his remarks and usually doesn’t sing “Boom Bye Bye.” Pressure needs to be kept on him, though.
For more information see http://cancelbujubanton.wetpaint.com/
and http://www.petertatchell.net/popmusic/buju-bantons-violations-of-the-reggae-compassionate-act.html
Firstly thanks for standing up on this issue it is not about silencing Buju overall but the negative inciteful lyrics simply put though others wish to put a spin on things.
Some here in Jamaica are there in spirit with you and are just appalled at the comfort level at the song’s acceptance in society.
How can someone call for the elimination of another and more persons are not outraged and insensed by this?
Keep up the pressure.
Thanks
Peace