BASSETERRE, St. Kitts- Buju Banton’s camp is hoping to set the record straight in response to the cancellation of his seven-city tour by promoters ‘Live Nation’ and ‘AEG’.
Banton was set to perform this fall at the House of Blues and other venues in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco before the show promoters bowed to pressure from gay rights activists.
A spokesperson for Buju Banton stated that, “We are disappointed by the hasty cancellation of a few shows by Live Nation/House of Blues and Goldenvoice/AEG, but fans will be happy to know we have over 30 confirmed shows that are definitely playing and we are working to replace the canceled dates.”
The statement continued: “Now our team is primarily concerned with setting the record straight on the grossly inaccurate portrait of Buju being painted by certain organizations and systematically relayed to the masses and the media.”
Buju Banton has attracted criticism over his homophobic lyrics, and this has been reported in the media. Critics have denounced his song ‘Boom Bye Bye’, charging that it exalts the torture and murder of gay men.
In giving Banton’s side of the story, his spokesperson said that the 36-year-old reggae artiste was only 15 years old when he wrote ‘Boom Bye Bye’. The spokesperson added that Banton wrote this song, which includes the lyrics ‘Boom, bye bye, in a batty boy’s head’, in response to a widely publicized man/boy rape case in Jamaica.
The release further stated that Banton does not perform the song anymore. Banton’s camp maintains that ‘Boom Bye Bye’ was not a call to violence against homosexuals and that it was the only song he ever wrote on the subject.
The first of Buju Banton’s 30 confirmed shows will kick off on Saturday, September 12 in Philadelphia.
