A reggae festival
created to promote peace among cultures is being
denounced by gay and lesbian advocacy groups for allowing
performers with a history of antigay lyrics.
The Reggae
Carifest, to be held Saturday on an island in New York
City's East River, promises performances by Buju Banton
and Bounty Killer, among several other acts. Gay and
lesbian activists are planning to protest the
performers outside the show, said Rashad Robinson, a
spokesman for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against
Defamation. The purpose is to educate sponsors and
concertgoers on the dangers of antigay lyrics, he
said.
The performers
have a right to free speech, but so do protest groups, he
said.
''We as an
organization value free speech. It gives us the right to
stand up to vulgar antigay lyrics which promote
violence,'' he said.
Earlier this
week, a hip-hop radio station quietly withdrew its
sponsorship of the event. Power 105.1, owned by radio giant
Clear Channel Communications Inc., would not specify
the reason, but a spokeswoman said the station does
not usually play reggae and never plays Banton or Bounty
Killer. The station had never planned to broadcast the show
live.
Calls to record
labels for Banton and Bounty Killer were not immediately
returned Friday. Concert promoter Team Legendary did not
immediately return messages seeking comment.
The city Parks
Department, which operates Randall's Island, said in a
statement Friday that all performers signed a code of
conduct agreeing to refrain from performing antigay
lyrics, at the promoter's request.
The issue of
antigay lyrics in reggae and other Jamaican music surfaced
years ago when Banton released ''Batty Rider'' and ''Boom
Bye Bye,'' which glorify the shooting of gay men. The
Beenie Man song ''Han Up Deh'' calls for a lesbian to
be hanged, while T.O.K's song ''Chi Chi Man'' suggests
the burning of gay men.
GLAAD has
identified the Bounty Killer song ''Another Level'' as
containing antigay lyrics.
The husky-voiced
Banton has been a major star in his native Jamaica since
the early 1990s with brash dancehall music and, more
recently, a traditional reggae sound. His career has
been stunted in the United States because of his
attitude toward gays. Banton was tried and acquitted
in Jamaica on charges that he participated in the beating of
six gay men by a gang in 2004.
A concert last
summer at Webster Hall was canceled after a similar uproar
over performers Beenie Man and T.O.K. Also last summer,
British concerts featuring Banton and Beenie Man were
canceled after activists said the artists refused to
stop using antigay lyrics.
Reggae Carifest
was launched in 1998. Promoters call the show an
''explosion of West Indian exhibitionism.''
''Reggae Carifest
is doing our part to break down cultural barriers and
to showcase the overwhelming richness of reggae music and
culture,'' D'Niscio Brooks of Team Legendary, the
concert promoter, said in a news release. (Colleen
Long, AP)