Beenie Man
Andrew Clunis, News Editor
LONDON (The Voice):
JAMAICAN DANCEHALL music is once again under severe threat in Britain as gay campaigners seek to censor the genre and lock up its chief exponents. They are claiming a major victory on the back of the cancellation of a Beenie Man concert last week. And they have declared their intention to wreck the careers of the dancehall's most notable stars, including Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Vybes Kartel, Capleton and Elephant Man.
Scotland Yard's hate crimes unit in London has been presented with a dossier containing the names and lyrics of the artistes in question. The police said they were informed of the concerns about the Beenie Man's lyrical content and they had an informal discussion with him upon arrival at Heathrow airport last week. A police spokeswoman said they would be considering each case independently and made it clear that incitement of violence against any group will not be tolerated.
Where this is found to have occurred, people will be arrested and charged and put through the proper procedures.
Bagga John who was co-promoter of the Beenie Man concert said if the situation was aggravated, the financial fallout could be devastating.
"We are talking about a Jamaican live music industry in the UK with an annual turnover in excess of £1 million. There is an entire economic community that will be affected - from the hairdressers, to fashion designers, musicians, security personnel not just promoters and artistes..."
QUESTIONED
Virgin recording star Beenie Man was questioned by police as he arrived in London for his gig at the Ocean venue last week. Bounty Killer's concert was cancelled in December over fears that the artiste would have been arrested had he entered the country.
Reminiscent of the sanctions that hit hard at Shabba Ranks and Buju Banton, the likelihood of the gay community having success this time around is quite high.
Peter Tatchell who heads the UK's most forceful gay rights group, OutRage, said they won't stop until the artistes in question apologise and withdraw the offending songs.
"We did it to Guns and Roses and to Marky Mark in the 90s and now we are saying to these dancehall artistes and producers if they refuse to desist inciting violence against lesbians and gays they will suffer the consequences. Everytime a concert is announced our aim will be to get it cancelled until these artistes comply."
Tatchell said his group would be stepping up vigilance to ensure they are aware of all dancehall events slated across the country.
CANCELLED
Officials at Ocean said the decision to cancel Beenie Man's gig was due to concerns over public safety. But what does this mean for the raft of music promoters in Britain, whose commercial enterprises are based on these dancehall acts?
For Chris Platinum, a veteran promoter who lost heavily on the cancelled Bounty Killer show, perhaps the time has come for dialogue.
"Maybe we have to look at another approach. I don't know whether this means the artistes toning down their material but we have to be realistic. We are living in a society where there are gays at the very highest levels. These guys have support."
A press release from OutRage listed a number of leading figures in the black community who they claim have supported their anti-homophobia campaign. They include Oona King MP, Lee Jasper the London Mayor's advisor on equality issues, Diane Abbott MP, Darcus Howe of the New Statesman, music star Ms. Dynamite, Keith Vaz MP, Trevor Phillips, chair of the Commission for Racial Equality, David Lammy MP, comedian Lenny Henry, Paul Boateng MP, Simon Woolley of Operation Black Vote, and Claude Moraes MEP.
Tatchell said he too would like to have dialogue with the promoters and producers.
"We'd be glad to meet them anytime. We want to drive homophobia out of dancehall music and to make life safe for lesbian and gay people. It's wrong that anyone should incite violence against another human being. We'd like to see Jamaican music reclaimed for Bob Marley's spirit of peace and brotherhood."
