Beenie Man, one of the most successful Jamaican dancehall reggae artists, recently spoke out claiming "I'm not a homophobe," following a string of protests against him.

From 365gay.com

Beenie Man tells the British newspaper The Independent that he no longer performs his hit tune, Bad Man Chi Chi Man (Bad Man, Queer Man).

The song, however, is still still sold throughout the world and LGBT rights groups say it instructs listeners to kill gays.

"If yuh nuh chi chi (queer) man wave yuh right hand and (NO!!!)/If yuh nuh lesbian wave yuh right hand and (NO!!!)Some bwoy will go a jail fi kill man tun bad man chi chi man!!!." the lyrics say in Jamaican dialect.

And in the US...

From Wikipedia

MTV had plans to include Beenie Man in their roster of performers at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, held in Miami, Florida, but due to adverse publicity, threats of protests and boycotts over the anti-homosexual lyrics in some of his songs, MTV decided to exclude Beenie Man.

Beenie Man isn't the only one who has been blamed for inciting violence against gays in Jamaica. Buju Banton, another reggae artist, had one of his concerts canceled in the UK after protests from the Brighton community.

Posted by Ace

This entry was posted on Monday, August 14, 2006 at 10:45 AM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.