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Stop Murder Music

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Stop Murder Music was a campaign to oppose Jamaican artists who produced music that promoted violence against LGBT people through their lyrics.[1][2][3] The campaign primarily focused on dancehall and reggae genre, with artists such as Buju Banton, Bounty Killer, and the Bobo Ashanti Rastafarians Sizzla and Capleton being targeted.[4]

The campaign was jointly run by OutRage!, the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group, and J-Flag.[5][6] The term was coined by British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell in 1992.

United Kingdom

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The Stop Murder Music campaign targeted artists whose lyrics allegedly glorified murder of homosexual men. J-Flag, a Jamaican gay rights group who supported the campaign, claimed that homophobic lyrics fuelled attacks and murders of gay men in Jamaica.[7]

Tatchell was heavily involved in the campaign, as the head of OutRage!.[6] He argued that the music could be considered incitement to murder, and should be legally treated as such.[6]

The Green Party of England and Wales also campaigned on behalf of the stop murder music campaign, including petitioning the United Kingdom Home Secretary in 2004.[8]

The UK International Development Minister Gareth Thomas argued in a speech that, "A number of artists [such as Sizzla and Buju Banton] are effectively contributing to the spread of HIV by producing reggae and rap songs actually encouraging discrimination against those who have AIDS and encouraging violence against minority groups such as men who have sex with men...Yes, we believe in free speech, but nobody in a democracy should be able to incite violence against minorities."[9][10] He cited John King and the Mighty Gabby as examples of musicians who are positive role models against violence and discrimination.[11]

Buju Banton was a prominent protest target for protests due to his song "Boom Bye Bye", a song where he sings about murdering gay men by shooting them in the head, pouring acid on them, and burning them alive.[12]

MOBO Awards

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OutRage! first picketed outside the MOBO Awards in 2002.[13]

In August 2004 OutRage! called on the organisers of the Mobo Awards to drop the nominations of Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel, due to their homophobic lyrics.[14][6] Stonewall and J-Flag backed the call.[7] Dennis Carney, chair of the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group, argued that the MOBO Awards had a responsibility to exclude anti-gay artists because, "homophobic lyrics in music normalise hatred towards black gay men."[15] The MOBO Award organisers publicly responded, stating that they don't condone homophobic lyrics, and called for apologies from the artists.[7] They ultimately dropped Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel from their nominees due to the campaign.[14][16]

The Black Music Council was formed by Blacker Dread, in response to the campaign against the MOBO awards. They accused the gay rights groups of intimidation, claiming that the artists had the right to free speech.[17][14] They claimed they needed "to protect the rights of the eight artists placed on the OutRage! hit list".[17]

OutRage! called on the Home Sectary to issue exclusion orders to prevent the artists from attending the awards ceremony in London.[7]

Reggae Compassionate Act

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The Reggae Compassionate Act was an agreement signed in 2007 by artists including Beenie Man, Capleton, Buju Banton, and Sizzla.[18][12][19] It has now been somewhat discredited as some artists have felt it was badly worded,[20] while others have denied signing it.[21] Others (including Elephant Man, T.O.K., Bounty Killa, and Vybz Kartel) have simply refused to sign it.[22]

Impact

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The Jamaican dancehall group T.O.K. were among several artists who refused to sign the Reggae Compassionate Act.

As a result of the campaign, many artists had gigs cancelled.

Beenie Man apologised for his lyrics. As a direct result of the Stop Murder Music campaign, MTV cancelled a planned concert featuring him in Miami.[14][4] Police also forced one of his London shows to be cancelled in June 2004.[23]

Capleton had seven US events cancelled, following planned protests from gay activists.[4][24] Capleton refused to back down on his views, and in an interview with the Santa Cruz Sentinel claimed that homosexuality is “against humanity. It’s against your mother, it’s against your father, it’s against yourself.”[25]

Police cancelled a planned Buju Banton's concert in Manchester due to the concern over potential protesters.[16] Between 2005-2011 27 of his shows were cancelled due to complaints or planned protests.[26] Banton stopped performing “Boom Bye Bye” in 2007, after signing The Reggae Compassionate Act.[12] In 2017 Banton pointed out that he was 15 when he wrote the song, and that he was determined to put the song behind him. He removed the song from his catalogue, removing it from streaming services including Apple Music and Spotify.[27]

A London reggae festival was completely cancelled, as artists including Elephant Man, Beenie Man, and Vybz Kartel were due to perform.[14]

Sizzla was due to play five gigs in November 2004, but all shows were ultimately cancelled. He missed the first date of the tour after he missed his flight from Jamaica due to visa delays.[28] The four other shows were cancelled by the venues, on advice of local police, and councils. Scotland Yard's racial and racial and violent crime task force opened an investigation into Sizzla for incitement to murder.[28][29] Despite signing the Reggae Compassionate Act in 2007,[30] Sizzla has continued to be vocally homophobic, accusing gay people of corrupting children.[31] In 2022 he covered Buju Banton's “Boom Bye Bye”, at a live show, replacing one of the controversial lyrics “dem haffi dead” with “dem haffi gweh”.[32]

Beenie Man, Capleton, Buju Banton, Elephant Man, and Bounty Hunter were investigated by the Crown Prosecution Service, as they considered if they should be prosecuted for lyrics that allegedly incite violence against gays.[4][28][23][16]

The Black Music Council claimed the campaign had impacted every aspect of the music industry, effecting club managers, artists, and managers. They claimed the campaign had caused Reggae and Dancehall music to be pulled from shelves of high street stores.[17]

Canada

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Stop Murder Music (Canada) is an independent branch of the organization in Canada, founded by Akim Adé Larcher, after learning at a local West Indian store about a Canadian Tour by Elephant Man. Larcher, a Canadian/Saint Lucian, brought together over 20 organizations from the African and Caribbean communities in Canada to form the group.[33]

Despite not causing any artists to be denied entry visas, the campaign was able to get concert venues cancelled,[34] and also get iTunes to remove some tracks by Buju Banton, Elephant Man and TOK that they deemed contrary to their standards.[35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Silencing Jamaican musicians fuels censorship debate Archived 2012-12-01 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "Homophobia in Jamaica's dancehall music industry". The Guardian. 10 December 2004. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023.
  3. ^ Archive copy of "Can music incite murder?", The Black Music Council Site at the Internet Archive. Report Date:15 Dec 2004.
  4. ^ a b c d Petridis, Alexis (10 December 2004). "Pride and prejudice". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  5. ^ Burrell, Ian (2005)."'Murder music' silenced by a tough operator", Independent, The (London), Mar 7, 2005.
  6. ^ a b c d Tatchell, Peter (31 August 2004). "It isn't racist to target Beenie Man". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  7. ^ a b c d Branigan, Tania (28 August 2004). "Mobo voters to decide on 'anti-gay' stars". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  8. ^ Reggae star barred from Britain. "Sizzla Denied Visa". Peter Tatchell. Archived from the original on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  9. ^ (22 November 2004). "HIV warning over reggae lyrics", BBC News.
  10. ^ Boseley, Sarah (22 November 2004). "Reggae stars 'fuel spread of HIV'", Guardian.co.uk.
  11. ^ Gareth Thomas. "Speech" Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine, UK/CARICOM Champions For Change Conference.
  12. ^ a b c Topping, Alexandra (23 July 2007). "Victory for gay rights campaign as reggae star agrees to ditch homophobic lyrics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  13. ^ "BBC Caribbean". BBC. 27 September 2004. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  14. ^ a b c d e "Reggae supporters protest UK gay lobby". BBC. 27 September 2004. Retrieved 4 October 2025.
  15. ^ Graver, Mark (2004). "Why homophobic lyrics in reggae music are a health issue for black gay men" Archived 2010-12-22 at the Wayback Machine, MedicalNewsToday.com. Article Date: 10 Sep 2004 - 9:00 PDT.
  16. ^ a b c Jones, Sam (23 September 2004). "Police cancel reggae star's gig". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  17. ^ a b c Alicia Roache, Staff Reporter. "Black Music Council Defends DJ’s"[usurped], The Sunday Gleaner (sosjamaica.org). 13 December 2004. glapn.org.
  18. ^ Colin (2007). "Reggae Stars Sign On To Cut Out Homophobic Lyrics", LOGOonline.com: NewNowNext, at the Internet Archive. June 13, 2007.
  19. ^ Andy (2007). "Reggae Stars Renounce Homophobia, Condemn Anti-gay Violence", Towelroad.com. 13 June 2007.
  20. ^ "Reggae Compassionate Act needs revision" Archived 2008-08-30 at the Wayback Machine, ttgapers.com.
  21. ^ Keril Wright (July 22, 2007). Archive copy of "Beenie Man Denies Signing Deal with Gay Group", Jamaican Observer at the Internet Archive.
  22. ^ "Reggae tips". The Guardian. 2 August 2007. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022.
  23. ^ a b Jones, Sam (23 September 2004). "Police cancel reggae star's gig". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  24. ^ "Reggae star angers gay activists". New Bedford Standard-Times. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  25. ^ Staff, Billboard (1 October 2004). "Protest Cancels Capleton Shows". Billboard. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  26. ^ MacLeod, Erin; Chappell, Kate (7 December 2018). "'Man is a king': controversial star Buju Banton comes home to Jamaica". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  27. ^ Thompson, Desire (26 March 2019). "Buju Banton Explains Why He Removed Controversial Song "Boom Bye Bye" From Catalog". VIBE.com. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  28. ^ a b c Laville, Sandra (4 November 2004). "Anti-gay star's UK tour cancelled". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  29. ^ "Singer Sizzla jailed for swearing". 3 February 2005. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  30. ^ Swash, Rosie (14 June 2007). "Beenie Man, Sizzla and Capleton renounce homophobia". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  31. ^ Gardner, Claudia (18 November 2021). "Sizzla, Foota Hype In Meltdown Mode Over Spice Headlining 'Toronto Pride' Festival". DancehallMag. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  32. ^ Mallick, Dani (27 September 2022). "Sizzla Revives Buju Banton's 'Boom Bye Bye': 'They Afraid To Sing It'". DancehallMag. Retrieved 5 October 2025.
  33. ^ "Stop Murder Music (Canada) (SMMC) | Egale Canada's". Mygsa.ca. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
  34. ^ Rau, Krishna (11 October 2007). "Koolhaus cancels concerts amid queer outrage". Xtra.ca. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2024.
  35. ^ (Jenna Wakani photo) (7 April 2008). "iTunes Canada pulls anti-gay dancehall songs". Xtra.ca. Archived from the original on 20 May 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
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