Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter

Buju Banton

"I didn't do anything. What could I have done differently? When I look at how they prosecuted and persecuted me, and all I did was issue my love and my sweat and thoughts to the people. When I returned from tour the other day, the police came and found some ganja and this ruthless cop made some statement that he is going to see me 'get f--k in life' and I live to see these things come to pass ... Their judgement to me is nothing. I don't fear no man, I don't come to bow to no guy ... I have no time to plant ganja, I come to feed people with music."

(Buju Banton in Sunday Gleaner interview).

Buju Banton is the dancehall artiste targeted most by the homosexual community. Over the years there have been cries from the community for his shows to be cancelled, his music banned and for him to be imprisoned. Still, unlike some of his counterparts, he has refused to apologise for his 1992 release Boom Bye Bye. As such, 14 years later he is still paying the price, when only recently a concert was cancelled in Indiana without notice. Vice-president of Buju Banton's production house Gargamel Music, Tracii McGreggor, speaks of the many struggles and what they have been through.

Sunday Gleaner: Why is Buju being targeted and his concerts being cancelled?

Tracii McGregor: Why are so many of our great leaders or great black men persecuted in this manner? Just Buju, his manner, his name and life's work speak for itself ... the deeper you get the more the folks are up in arms and shut down Buju shows and these people have no idea what they are talking about. Then emails started being sent from gay communities across the country, and it's not fair about how it is presented, especially in the media. Buju has been obviously scapegoated about a song written almost 20 years ago. The fact is that the gay community is very influential and they carry a lot of weight, especially the gay, white male ... There are a lot of people who are into gossip and sensationalism to make a story. All they are doing is painting such an ugly picture of who Buju is and what his music is all about.

How many shows have been cancelled so far?

The one show to date that has been cancelled is the one in Bloomingdale, Indiana ... People started sending out these emails and making a whole bunch of phone calls to the manger and he buckled under the pressure. The venue already knew about Buju and they were aware of the ensuing controversy that has been going on since 2004 but, apparently, it was the pressure of all these letters and they decided to pull out of the show. The next thing we knew was that they gave a statement to the LA Times and there was no comment from Buju's camp and the promoter didn't even know.

Are his album (sales) being affected?

I wouldn't say that. Buju has always been a consistent seller. Too Bad is the first album on his own label, which is an independent label, and the numbers that we have to deal with are different, but the returns are greater.

How has he been dealing with the new attacks so far?

This is nothing new for Buju. This is something that has been following Buju for the last couple of years. It is hurtful for me and Donovan Germaine (CEO of Penthouse Records) since he has been working with Buju since Buju was a youth. I can only imagine what it is like for Buju, who is out there creating the most beautiful, uplifting music, but he stays focused on what he is here to do.

What have you been doing to counter the attacks?

It's mainly letters. We have reached out to various organisations and and we have been speaking to the media so that there can be a bit more dialogue and balance about Buju ... The more pieces there are that give people the chance to hear our side, the better it is, though people will make their own choices.

Do you think his freedom of speech is being infringed?

Of course, but you know, that's just a piece of it. I've never seen them try to tear down a white man and try to tear down a white artiste and white murderer. It's bananas how they deal with a black man. Buju's track record speaks for itself, but people ignore that. Back in 1992 there was a large front page piece done on him called 'Hate Music' because of Boom Bye Bye and, in that same paper, that same year, there was a small piece on Markie Mark hidden in a corner where he was jailed for beating a Vietnamese immigrant ...You don't read consistently about Eminem saying he hates gays, women, or specifically black women, and this guy has far less when you look at the body of work done by Buju.

Are people purposely misinterpreting his message?

Of course. They are just twisting it for their own benefit ... Like one time I was out here and I was schooling a group of guys about the issue and this gay chick walks up to us and is like 'I hope you let them know this and that ...' So I said to her 'hold on, what are you talking about? What do you know about him?' And she's like, 'well, he's this guy who was like convicted of ....' I was just shocked. I was like 'how can you stand there and spew forth these lies!' She was like 'don't shout at me', but I was explaining to her that she didn't know what she was talking about and 'instead of getting the facts about a song that predates our puberty you need to get your facts straight'. So I started explaining to her who Buju is and about his work and she was like 'oh I didn't know that'. She started talking about the fact that she had just moved out there and she didn't have anyone really and the gay group that she was a part of was there for her. That's just how things are here (in the USA). There are a lot of young people misdirecting their anger.

I read somewhere that you had agreed to have Buju stop performing 'Boom Bye Bye' earlier this year. Is that so?

I don't know anything about that. Why would we infringe on Buju's right to free speech? I have never seen him do all of the song when he performs; it's usually about three lines of the song and then he explains all that has been going on and all that the gay community has forced on him. The fact is that the stage and my space (laughing) is the only place where he can talk to his fans. But truthfully, it is within his right to do Boom Bye Bye and that song is not a representation of who he is.

What about foreign artistes who sing anti-gay lyrics. Have they been targeted? If not, what are your reactions?

It is there, even with hip-hop artistes like Eminem. He has spoken about the fact that he doesn't like gay people and a lot of his music advocates horrible things, but the fact is that he is making millions and millions and millions for Interscope. The way I feel about this is that if I listen to Eminem, it's like 'ok, it's a song; that's how he feels, ok. Move on'.

What are your thoughts on Buju's music being portrayed by the homosexual community as solely anti-gay music?

They're picking and choosing and I'm like, what are you trying to gain from this? I'm blown away that they are like he should apologise for doing a song that he did so many years ago. That song was made when Buju was much younger at a specific time about a specific incident, and they are acting as if they don't know this and those who just accept these lies just don't know and don't do their research.

What do you think are the long-term effects of this on Jamaican music?

First of all, Jamaican music survived like 50 or 60 years with no publicity. The industry itself has to grow and that has been happening. There are independent labels that are being formed and that sort of thing and artistes are learning the rigours of the industry ... As an industry we have to come together. We are an emotional people, so we think that we have to like people to work with them, but at this stage, for the music to grow, we don't have to like each other to work with each other. We need to do that until the Jamaican music industry is a force to be reckoned with on the international landscape and they come to us, instead of us being petty and fighting over the crumbs that they leave there for us.