August 5-11, 2004

music

Hate Rhymes

NOTORIOUS B.I.G.O.T.: Beenie Man says don't hate the player, hate the gays.

Beenie Man's gay bashing inspires a movement against him.

by Patrick Rapa

Beenie Man does not currently hold the title of Biggest Homophobic Music Star in Jamaica. Surely that goes to Buju Banton, who, besides advocating gay bashing in songs like "Batty Man" and "Boom Bye Bye," was actually implicated in an incident in June in which a dozen men broke into a Kingston house and beat up its gay inhabitants.

So Beenie must be No. 2, which is no small feat considering the competition: Sizzla, Elephant Man, TOK, Bounty Killer.

Of course, the country as a whole has resisted gay civil rights. Homosexual sex is illegal in Jamaica, and a poll taken earlier this year concluded that 96 percent of the country is perfectly happy with the law. Amnesty International says that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people are at risk of verbal and physical abuse from both citizens and police.

None of that forgives Beenie's gay-bashing lyrics — he famously starts his hit "Damn" with "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays!" — but it does tell us something about where he's coming from.

In June, when the 30-year-old dancehall superstar flew into Heathrow for a show in Hackney, England, Scotland Yard met him at the airport. After having Beenie's lyrics translated from Jamaican patois, they had a special request for the evening's concert: Don't play "Damn." Or "Bad Man Chi Chi Man." Or any other songs with violent, homophobic rhymes.

Soon enough, Beenie was allowed to enter the country, but the venue was scared off and the show was canceled. For the Grammy-winning Virgin Records singer — who has recorded more than 60 hit songs in his homeland since he burst onto the scene at age 4 — it was a shock.

For British activist Peter Tatchell and gay-rights group OutRage!, it was a major victory. ""Bad Man Chi Chi Man' calls for the killing of gay DJs. In his hit tune "Damn,' Beenie Man dreams of "executing' gay people. This is outrageous. These lyrics are criminal acts of incitement to murder," Tatchell says.

"I suspect Beenie Man's attacks on gay people are indicative of insecurities about his own masculinity and sexuality. Happy, well-adjusted heterosexual men don't feel the need to denigrate and insult their gay brothers and sisters," says Tatchell. "This guy is seriously screwed up."

After the success in London, OutRage! set its sights on America, encouraging other activist groups to make life difficult for Beenie on his current six-stop stateside tour.

Among those answering the call is The Philadelphia Lesbian and Gay Task Force. Because Beenie is scheduled to play the Electric Factory on Friday, the advocacy group set up a meeting with the local Clear Channel office, which books the venue. The task force's aspirations go beyond this one show.

It hopes the meeting — which unfortunately takes place after City Paper goes to press — will be a "transformative moment in music history," says the group's executive director, Rita Adessa. "We expect Clear Channel, a media mogul, to broaden public discourse about critical issues of the day and to reconceptualize its narrow view of what constitutes "indecency.' We expect the Electric Factory to take this opportunity to rethink its role in building the social fabric of our city and state."

The show was booked by local reggae promoter "Jamaican Dave" Russell. Counting gigs in Lancaster, Trenton and Delaware, he figures he's booked Beenie some 15 times in the last five years.

That reporters are suddenly asking him if he's going to cancel the show at the Electric Factory is a big surprise. "Jamaican Dave Productions is not for or against the lifestyle," he says. "We believe in democracy. We're immigrants, you know. We know about discrimination." More to the point, he says, "Beenie Man is obviously not [playing Philly] to make a statement."

He just saw the guy perform at a Fader magazine gala last week. "He did an entire set and the entire New York media was there and this never came up." In Russell's eyes, the singer probably wouldn't need to be told not to play "Bad Man Chi Chi Man." He theorizes that Beenie has toned down his controversial ways. It's true, his latest, Back to Basics, is a radio-friendly unit-shifter.

In a curious twist: Virgin Records issued a statement Wednesday morning that its artist, clearly on the verge of facing protest at every concert, offered his "sincerest apologies." That was quickly undermined when a representative from his management company provided a clarification when asked by OutRage! representatives: Beenie was simply condemning violence and by no means was he abandoning his love of criticizing homosexuals.

Several attempts were made to interview Beenie Man for this article, but either his publicists are really bad at what they do or they're not interested in having Beenie making matters worse by opening his mouth.