The LGBT community in Barbados wants Buju Banton to denounce his classic “Boom Bye Bye publicly.”
As Buju Banton gets ready to hit the road for his first post-prison tour, he is already getting a fight from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transsexual (LGBT). The Gargamel is gearing up for a major show at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on April 27th as part of his Long Walk To Freedom Tour.
Since announcing the tour, the promoter has been coming under pressure from the gay community in the island who are now calling for Buju Banton to denounce “Boom Bye Bye.” Barbados LGBT community spokesperson, Ro-Ann Mohammed says, “there is some merit to how some people feel with regard to the rhetoric surrounding some of his early music, particularly the Boom Bye Bye song.”
Mohammed added that she still welcome Buju Banton to headline the 2019 Barbados Reggae Festival. She said the song continues to be used as a tool to advocate violence against members of her community despite being on the airwaves for three decades.
“Even today, it is a song that is used to advocate the literal death of LGBT people, based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and that is wrong; that is fundamentally wrong on every level, Mohammed said. “Even though Buju himself wrote that song as a teenager and he doesn’t perform the song anymore, the song is still used to discriminate against LGBT people and to cause harm and to perpetuate harm against LGBT people. So I think people are very valid in feeling unsafe considering it’s a time of uncertainty.”
Ro-Ann Mohammed says she will be attending Buju Banton concert, but she wants him to release a statement against the song.
