From Misogyny To Homophobia

Hari and Peter Tatchell are distressed by the lyrics of ragga stars like Buju Banton and the Men Elephant and Beenie, with their negative view of uphill gardening, batty boys and chichi men.

Thirty years ago ska master (and Muslim - I never knew that) Prince Buster was keeping his woman firmly in her place.

The Ten Commandments of man - given to woman
Through the inspiration of I; Prince Buster

1 Thou shall have no other man but me

2 Thou shall not encourage no man to make love to you
Neither kiss nor caress you
For I am your man, a very jealous man
And is ready to lay low any other man
That may intrude in our love

3 Remember to kiss and caress me
Honor and obey me, in my every whim and fancy
Seven days a week and twice on Sundays
Because at no time will I ever be tired of I-T, it
Honour my name, that every other woman
May honour it also

5 Thou shall not provoke me to anger
Or my wrath will descend upon you heavily

6 Thou shall not search my pockets at night
Or annoy me with your hearsays

7 Thou shall not shout my name in the streets
If I'm walking with another woman
But wait intelligently until I come home
Then we both can have it out decently
For I am your man, a funny man
And detest a scandal in public places

8 Thou shall not drink, nor smoke
Nor use profane language
For those bad habits I will not stand for

9 Thou shall not commit adultery
For the world will not hold me guilty
If I commit murder

10 Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's dress
Nor her shoes, nor her bureau, nor her bed, nor her hat
Nor anything that's hers
Neither shall thou call my attention to anything
That may be for sale
In any stores, for I will not give thee anything
But what you actually need for your purpose

Those are the Ten Commandments given from man to woman
By me, Prince Buster


UPDATE - for an idiotic liberal view of Hari's gripes, try here.

"The world is in trouble/Anytime Buju Banton come/ Batty boy get up and run/ ah gunshot in ah head man/Tell dem crew… it’s like/ Boom bye bye, in a batty boy head, rude boy nah promote no nasty man, them hafi dead." The average member of the reggae dancehall culture knows the message that this song is sending to its listeners. However, without a translation these lyrics do not mean a thing to someone who is not familiar with this culture and the vocabulary of dancehall artists. Translated the lyrics read: "The world is in trouble/When Buju Banton arrives/Faggots have to run/Or get a bullet in the head /Bang-bang, in a faggot’s head/Homeboys don’t condone nasty men/They must die."

I honestly believe there is nothing wrong with the lyrics of Buju Banton’s song "Boom Bye Bye" because of the fact that he is singing about his culture. I believe anyone, not only musicians, but any artist should be able to express themselves and their beliefs through their work. If it is the norm in your society to believe something is wrong then how can you expect a prominent artist to express himself in a manner that goes against the norm of his society. Personally I believe that he is singing about his culture and no one, no matter what the situation, should be criticized for expressing his or her beliefs.

I hope she remembers that when my concept CD, 'Reaffirming Patriarchy - Capture, Chain, Abuse and Torture all the participants in the Fourth Annual Composition And Cultural Studies Conference' is in the charts.