Morning:
9°c
THERE is no more ardent devotee of ragga music and especially Bounty Killer than me. With his snappy "Lord have mercy" catchphrase, his distinctive gravel-edged voice and his lyrical dexterity, the self-proclaimed "Poor People's Governor" was the soundtrack to my youth.
But as a humanist, I have no truck with hate music: the homophobic lyrics with which he has chosen to pepper his songs over the years have helped to create an ugly culture. Lyrics such as "bun a fire pon a puff and mister fagoty" and "you know we need no promo to rub out dem homo" are, quite simply, incitements to murder people because of their sexual orientation.
So the Met's decision to allow Bounty Killer's London concert to go ahead on Saturday is plain wrong. But this furore is indicative of a bigger issue. The elephant in the room is the rampant level of homophobia in the black British community. This is, among straight black people, the issue that dares not speak its name.
Let's not beat about the bush. Ragga music, and with it many parts of Jamaican and black British culture, are steeped in homophobia. From Buju Banton's infamous song Boom Bye Bye to Shabba Ranks's ignominious appearance on The Word when he brazenly advocated the crucifixion of gay people, the genre has had a big problem with intolerance. Songs with appalling homophobia are the norm, and their popularity is worryingly indicative of a wider mindset.
It is both sad and ironic that a people as proud of their African roots as Jamaicans should have imbibed the religious bigotry of their white plantation masters. Even if it's from a music and a culture we love, more heterosexual black people need to take a stand against hate music. And if that means boycotting the concert, and hitting Bounty Killer where it hurts, so be it.
Bounty, you have demonstrated remarkable compassion in your songs to the poor, the disenfranchised and the black oppressed. So why not show some love to another persecuted minority, gays? The Latin playwright Terence (himself a black African slave from Carthage) wrote: "I am a human being, and I consider nothing human alien to me." And yes, Bounty, that includes "batty bwoys"
* Lindsay Johns is a writer and cultural critic on Colourful Radio.
Reader views (4)
Well, I can see how being a devotee of this retarded drivel could lead Lindsay Johns to conclude that Jamaicans are too stupid to formulate their own opinions. Funny thing is, all the black people I've ever known seem perfectly capable of thinking for themselves (and a good deal more coherent than Mr Killer).
Either Evil Whitey's not as good at this brainwashing lark as he used to be, or maybe - just maybe - not every problem in the world can be laid at the door of the white man.
- Raphael, London, 20/11/2008 11:49
Report abuse
dis dim wit can't write objectively. There are far more pressing issues than boycotting a concert Mister Johns. I'm not for hate music but write inteligently.
- Thomas Martins, uk, 20/11/2008 00:18
Report abuse
You touched the main point when you said "as Jamaicans should have imbibed the religious bigotry of their white plantation master" It's all about religion and forced conversion during slavery period wich it's might be difficult to rid of these days. that same religion getting more and more powerfull in our society...
- Fab, london UK, 19/11/2008 22:30
Report abuse
I will take issue with just 2 of the statements in the text:
1. it is downright patronising of you to assume that the views of black people concerning homosexuals are a result of 'having imbibed the religious bigotry of their white plantation masters' - please, do give millions of people the right to hold their opinions as their own - or do you just assume that the millions of black people just don't know how to make up their mind on their own and need to resort to the value set of their oppressors from 200 years back?
2. I would think the concept of tolerance extends to bigots as it does to for example to stupid people or red- haired people or to gay people - is there any need to stigmatise any of there groups? let them hold their beliefs and customs in peace, be it berating gays by ragga boys, be it berating bigots by gays. Just because someone doesn't like somebody's religious views or sexual habits and says so out loud doesn't make their opinions any less valid - ever heard of the freedom of speech? Is there a law saying everybody has to approve of gay people and if they don't they have to keep their trap shut?1?
- Anna, Warsaw, 19/11/2008 17:21
Report abuse
