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February 7, 2005

Dancehall, Gay Lobby Pact

Reggae labels pledge sensitivity, activists call off protests

Too Bad

Blessed with the biggest voice and most active conscience in dancehall reggae, and only twenty-seven as the millennium turned, Buju Banton lost his way. His political message softened, and, crucially, both his 2000 Unchained Spirit, on punk-linked Anti-, and 2003's Friends for Life, on reggae...

2006 RS: 3of 5 Stars

2003

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1997

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Biography

When he was 17, he penned and voiced "Boom Bye Bye"; two years later, thanks to that track, which advocates shooting gay men in the head, Buju Banton was the international poster boy for homophobia. No excuses, but "batty bwoy" lyrics are de rigueur for Jamaican MCs, yet today's Buju is the sole reggae artist to publicly acknowledge one's right to love whom one chooses.

Despite his grave...

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