Wed 9 Dec 2009 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Jamaican reggae singer Beenie Man, who was 'uninvited' from the Big Gay Out due to his history of songs calling for gays to be killed, has performed his hate-mongering lyrics in Uganda, where MPs will soon decide on further measures to punish its gay citizens. 'Murder music' makes a comeback: Beenie Man Despite assurances received in New Zealand through his record company that the singer had renounced anti-gay attitudes and no longer performed such vicious 'murder music', "The King of Dancehall stuck a sword of words into gay people through singing and talking," reports Africa's Daily Monitor. The paper quoted Beenie Man on stage at the weekend as telling a concert crowd: "In my family, we don't have any gay person but if you're gay, my brother that's not my fault." He reportedly performed his song Mi Nah Wallah, in which he says he would like to cut the throats of all gay men. Uganda has outraged the world with a parliamentary bill which recommends the death penalty for men who have gay sex with disabled people, under-18s or when the accused is HIV-positive. The bill is expected to be passed this month. PEPSI 'APPALLED' Beenie Man's concert in Uganda was sponsored by Pepsi, which has since issued a statement of apology condemning the use of homophobic lyrics, and pledging that the company will maintain tighter control over events sponsorship. "We are appalled by the performer's lyrics and find them repugnant," Pepsi said in a statement. "Our bottling partner in Uganda was not aware of the performer's views and never would have sponsored the concert with this knowledge." BEENIE MAN'S KIWI APOLOGY IN DOUBT The producers of Auckland's Big Day Out decided Beenie Man would be uninvited from the popular music festival last month following a storm of protest against the singer and his violently homophobic lyrics. "Although aware of the controversial nature of Beenie Man and his previous lyrics that have caused offence with the Gay and Lesbian and wider community, the producers understood that the artist had renounced these sentiments and no longer expresses those views," said the Big Day Out's management last month. Emails received by GayNZ.com following the decision, and a statement signed by Beenie Man's record company, quoted the singer as "heartbroken" about "misunderstandings" over his lyrics. Responding to specific questions from GayNZ.com, Beenie Man was then quoted as saying: "I am not a supporter of hatred and never was... I do not sing or perform any of those songs nor promote any violence on stage. I have been performing all over the world and there hasn't been any issues of recent." Even pro-Beenie man bloggers had doubted the authenticity of the emails, which now appear to have been 'damage control' measures by his international music distributors.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 9th December 2009 - 10:19am