Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Dancehall = Homophobia?

I've never been a huge fan of reggae, since I always associated it with frat boys, and the more I found out about actual Rastafarian beliefs, the less ability I had to listen to reggae uncritically - really, it's not just about getting good and toasty all the time. According to this article on PlanetOut, it seems that many of the most well-known reggae/dancehall artists - such as Buju Banton, Beenie Man, and Shabba Ranks - are making "murder music" that advocates killing gays and lesbians. This has led to several incidents of mob violence against perceived gay men in Jamaica. I've seen several reggaeton/dancehall parties come up in the SF club scene lately, and I wonder how those DJs and party-goers would respond to this?

No comments: