In my city, to my knowledge, three gay clubs have specific evenings where their music selection includes Hip/Hop, R&B and Dancehall. I don't mind hearing dancehall in gay clubs, as it allows people from caribbean background to meet and have fun, as well as to mix with people from different nationality that are into the same music and blend together. But something really anoys me about these evenings: it's not uncommon to hear Elephant Man, Beenie Man, TOK, Bounty Killer, Buju Banton on the dancefloor. The DJs even put Sizzla and Capleton. This really upset me. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind these artists to be played in regular clubs, but they shouldn't be played in gay clubs.
At first, I tought the different DJs might not know about the conflict. I remember the first time I approch one of them, the answer I was given was something like: 'Jamaican music is homophobic. You just have to put this aspect aside and dance on the beat and have fun'. I couldn't believe I was serve such a silly answer. That was after I heard a song with the pejorative term 'Batty Boy' (the name of the song is unknown to me, but it was on the Buy Out riddim). I try to inform the DJs and the club owners, I wrote them nice letters, trying to get my point accross and gave them the address of my website so they would have all the necessary information to make nice decision, but nothing as changed. They ignored my concerns. I understand that it's cool to dance on five different Elephant Man songs, in withing two hours, in a gay club, isn't it? The same artist artist that wrote 'Log On' (Log on is a type of dance using the right foot in a stepping motion as if to squash a cockroach – the lyrics boast about crushing queers) and ' A Nuh Fi Wi Fault': 'Batty Man fi dead, please mark we word, gimme tha tech-nine (machine gun), shoot dem like bird'. Fine: they don't play the homophobic songs, but still we shouldn't allow any space for these artists in our community. To see hundred of gays and lesbians dancing on artists that clearly advocate the murder of our community, to me, it's totally sick! I even heard Sizzla's 'Run Out Pon Dem', a song where Sizzla attack verbally the gay community.
In May 2007, during a dance, I went to see one of the DJ and asked, did you get my letter? She replied, yes I got three of them. Signs that I'm not the only who cares. Then I replied, you really don't get the message? Her attitude drastically changed. I was aggresively pushed away twice, like I was 'bothering, or invading her space'. Then she called security on me. They violenlty put me on the floor, treated me like a piece of garbage and humiliated me infront of hundred peoples and threw me out of the club, all that because I was trying to make a point that I believe was necessary.
There is probably over 500 different dancehall singers. Why do we give a platform to the douzen that advocate murders to gays and lesbians? None of these singers have ever express a real apology, clearly directed to our community, saying that they were sorry for the songs they wrote in the past.
I hope that Montreal's situation is sort of unique, but who knows? I'm shure if more club goers would know about the conflict, they would be very mad to learn that they are dancing on these artists. Hopefully gay bars in other cities have enough pride to tell their DJs to 'select' the music they play.
If you feel concern by this issue, tell the DJ and the club owner that you don't want to hear the following artists on the dance floor: Elephant Man, Beenie Man, TOK, Bounty Killer, Buju Banton, Sizzla, Capleton, Spragga Benz, Vybz Kartel, Assassin, Krys, Baby Cham, Alozade and Admiral T. But one advice, if you go see the DJ, stay out of the booth where they do their work, as I think that was my mistake when they agressed me.
Let's be wiser within our community: no more of that 'let's play whatever and have fun'. Let's be in solidarity with gays and lesbians worldwide that have to suffer daily to live a decent life.
At first, I tought the different DJs might not know about the conflict. I remember the first time I approch one of them, the answer I was given was something like: 'Jamaican music is homophobic. You just have to put this aspect aside and dance on the beat and have fun'. I couldn't believe I was serve such a silly answer. That was after I heard a song with the pejorative term 'Batty Boy' (the name of the song is unknown to me, but it was on the Buy Out riddim). I try to inform the DJs and the club owners, I wrote them nice letters, trying to get my point accross and gave them the address of my website so they would have all the necessary information to make nice decision, but nothing as changed. They ignored my concerns. I understand that it's cool to dance on five different Elephant Man songs, in withing two hours, in a gay club, isn't it? The same artist artist that wrote 'Log On' (Log on is a type of dance using the right foot in a stepping motion as if to squash a cockroach – the lyrics boast about crushing queers) and ' A Nuh Fi Wi Fault': 'Batty Man fi dead, please mark we word, gimme tha tech-nine (machine gun), shoot dem like bird'. Fine: they don't play the homophobic songs, but still we shouldn't allow any space for these artists in our community. To see hundred of gays and lesbians dancing on artists that clearly advocate the murder of our community, to me, it's totally sick! I even heard Sizzla's 'Run Out Pon Dem', a song where Sizzla attack verbally the gay community.
In May 2007, during a dance, I went to see one of the DJ and asked, did you get my letter? She replied, yes I got three of them. Signs that I'm not the only who cares. Then I replied, you really don't get the message? Her attitude drastically changed. I was aggresively pushed away twice, like I was 'bothering, or invading her space'. Then she called security on me. They violenlty put me on the floor, treated me like a piece of garbage and humiliated me infront of hundred peoples and threw me out of the club, all that because I was trying to make a point that I believe was necessary.
There is probably over 500 different dancehall singers. Why do we give a platform to the douzen that advocate murders to gays and lesbians? None of these singers have ever express a real apology, clearly directed to our community, saying that they were sorry for the songs they wrote in the past.
I hope that Montreal's situation is sort of unique, but who knows? I'm shure if more club goers would know about the conflict, they would be very mad to learn that they are dancing on these artists. Hopefully gay bars in other cities have enough pride to tell their DJs to 'select' the music they play.
If you feel concern by this issue, tell the DJ and the club owner that you don't want to hear the following artists on the dance floor: Elephant Man, Beenie Man, TOK, Bounty Killer, Buju Banton, Sizzla, Capleton, Spragga Benz, Vybz Kartel, Assassin, Krys, Baby Cham, Alozade and Admiral T. But one advice, if you go see the DJ, stay out of the booth where they do their work, as I think that was my mistake when they agressed me.
Let's be wiser within our community: no more of that 'let's play whatever and have fun'. Let's be in solidarity with gays and lesbians worldwide that have to suffer daily to live a decent life.
