Post by kaya on Aug 27, 2007 10:24:24 GMT -5
Music Review | Reggae Carifest
Bring in the Reggae, Hold the Hate
By KELEFA SANNEH
Published: August 27, 2007
The more-or-less annual concert known as Reggae Carifest always seems to be controversial. Sometimes the lineup doesn’t match the flier. Or the stars spend their time onstage attacking one another. Or the audience can’t pick a favorite.
.
Playful trash talk: Ninjaman at Reggae Carifest on Saturday.
But this year the Carifest controversy preceded the show itself. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, known as Glaad, protested the presence of Buju Banton and Bounty Killer, two of the headliners, both of whom have recorded songs that include anti-gay lyrics. Power 105, the hip-hop radio station, withdrew its sponsorship. And on Saturday fans who approached the concert site on Randalls Island were met with a handful of protesters carrying signs and giving interviews.
After all that buildup Saturday’s concert was pretty much a bust. The giant field was mainly empty, despite a few thousand people crowded near the stage. And though the concert was scheduled to start at 2 p.m., the main acts didn’t take the stage until nearly 9 p.m., and some of the advertised acts didn’t appear at all. The most memorable set came from Mavado, a rising star with a battle-scarred singing voice. He only emerged in the last few years, so he knew enough to avoid recording the kinds of songs that have landed Buju Banton and Bounty Killer in trouble.
The controversy over anti-gay lyrics in dancehall reggae has been raging since the early 1990s, when Buju Banton recorded “Boom Bye Bye,” a tirade against gay men (known pejoratively as batty boys) and women. The most famous couplet goes, “Boom bye bye in a batty-boy head/Rude boy no promote no nasty man, dem haffi dead.” A few years ago, after the murder of a gay-rights activist in Jamaica, the controversy flared up anew, and some of dancehall reggae’s biggest stars found themselves facing canceled concerts and bad press, especially in Europe.
Last month the British gay-rights activist Peter Tatchell announced that Buju Banton and three other reggae stars (Beenie Man, Capleton and Sizzla) had signed a statement called “The Reggae Compassionate Act,” an agreement “not to make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community.” But is it possible to condemn homosexuality without inciting hatred? Is it possible to mollify suspicious critics abroad without infuriating suspicious fans at home? These are some of the tricky questions facing Buju Banton and the others.
Reggae Carifest was the first of three reggae concerts with overlapping lineups scheduled for the week leading up to the West Indian-American Day parade next Monday. On Thursday night Buju Banton and Mavado are to appear at the Hammerstein Ballroom, for “On Da Reggae Tip,” a concert sponsored by Power 105’s rival, Hot 97. (Also on the bill: Elephant Man, Tony Matterhorn and a couple of Marleys, Damian and Stephen.) And on Sunday the annual Irie Jamboree arrives at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens; scheduled acts include Beenie Man, Morgan Heritage and Luciano, along with Stephen Marley and Tony Matterhorn. If there is a competition among promoters, Carifest seems unlikely to win it this year.
Still, the best acts worked hard. Mavado’s set was a series of snippets, most from his rough-hewn but impressive debut album, “Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks” (VP). The crowd cheered the delayed-snare beat that introduces his breakthrough hit, “Weh Dem a Do.” In keeping with dancehall reggae tradition, people showed their appreciation for their favorite songs — the swaggering “Gully Side,” the eerie lament, “Dying” — by interrupting them.
Buju Banton’s set was surprisingly erratic. He has one of the best song catalogs in dancehall reggae history, but on Saturday he used his roaring voice sparingly, letting the backup singers deliver many of the melodies. He talked about peace and black unity, scarcely acknowledging the protesters, and he didn’t sing “Boom Bye Bye.” As he was getting shooed offstage, he humbly said, “I’ve got to be mindful of other performers.”
Bounty Killer took the opposite tack. Using the protesters as a foil, he portrayed himself as a conquering antihero. He vowed not to be silenced, gruffly affirming his own heterosexuality. But his brief set omitted many of his biggest hits, and after an explosive opening the energy flagged. By the time he was ushered off, the crowd had grown silent, and it seemed possible that the fearsome performer known as the warlord had been saved by the bell.
The dancehall veteran Ninjaman, making what he said was his first American appearance in 15 years, entertained the crowd with playful trash talk. And Collie Buddz, the Bermudan who scored a hit with “Come Around,” was likably humble during his afternoon set. (“It’s a big stage for a white boy who can’t dance, y’know,” he said.) And one of the most impressive performances came from Simon Templer, one of the hosts, who found himself onstage after Buju Banton, facing a crowd that was losing patience with the long delays. An ominous booing arose, but he kept his cool, skillfully turning the issue of impolite concert behavior into a question of family pride. “If you was raised proper,” he said, “put your hand in the air.”
SOURCE: www.nytimes.com
Bring in the Reggae, Hold the Hate
By KELEFA SANNEH
Published: August 27, 2007
The more-or-less annual concert known as Reggae Carifest always seems to be controversial. Sometimes the lineup doesn’t match the flier. Or the stars spend their time onstage attacking one another. Or the audience can’t pick a favorite.
.
Playful trash talk: Ninjaman at Reggae Carifest on Saturday.
But this year the Carifest controversy preceded the show itself. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, known as Glaad, protested the presence of Buju Banton and Bounty Killer, two of the headliners, both of whom have recorded songs that include anti-gay lyrics. Power 105, the hip-hop radio station, withdrew its sponsorship. And on Saturday fans who approached the concert site on Randalls Island were met with a handful of protesters carrying signs and giving interviews.
After all that buildup Saturday’s concert was pretty much a bust. The giant field was mainly empty, despite a few thousand people crowded near the stage. And though the concert was scheduled to start at 2 p.m., the main acts didn’t take the stage until nearly 9 p.m., and some of the advertised acts didn’t appear at all. The most memorable set came from Mavado, a rising star with a battle-scarred singing voice. He only emerged in the last few years, so he knew enough to avoid recording the kinds of songs that have landed Buju Banton and Bounty Killer in trouble.
The controversy over anti-gay lyrics in dancehall reggae has been raging since the early 1990s, when Buju Banton recorded “Boom Bye Bye,” a tirade against gay men (known pejoratively as batty boys) and women. The most famous couplet goes, “Boom bye bye in a batty-boy head/Rude boy no promote no nasty man, dem haffi dead.” A few years ago, after the murder of a gay-rights activist in Jamaica, the controversy flared up anew, and some of dancehall reggae’s biggest stars found themselves facing canceled concerts and bad press, especially in Europe.
Last month the British gay-rights activist Peter Tatchell announced that Buju Banton and three other reggae stars (Beenie Man, Capleton and Sizzla) had signed a statement called “The Reggae Compassionate Act,” an agreement “not to make statements or perform songs that incite hatred or violence against anyone from any community.” But is it possible to condemn homosexuality without inciting hatred? Is it possible to mollify suspicious critics abroad without infuriating suspicious fans at home? These are some of the tricky questions facing Buju Banton and the others.
Reggae Carifest was the first of three reggae concerts with overlapping lineups scheduled for the week leading up to the West Indian-American Day parade next Monday. On Thursday night Buju Banton and Mavado are to appear at the Hammerstein Ballroom, for “On Da Reggae Tip,” a concert sponsored by Power 105’s rival, Hot 97. (Also on the bill: Elephant Man, Tony Matterhorn and a couple of Marleys, Damian and Stephen.) And on Sunday the annual Irie Jamboree arrives at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens; scheduled acts include Beenie Man, Morgan Heritage and Luciano, along with Stephen Marley and Tony Matterhorn. If there is a competition among promoters, Carifest seems unlikely to win it this year.
Still, the best acts worked hard. Mavado’s set was a series of snippets, most from his rough-hewn but impressive debut album, “Gangsta for Life: The Symphony of David Brooks” (VP). The crowd cheered the delayed-snare beat that introduces his breakthrough hit, “Weh Dem a Do.” In keeping with dancehall reggae tradition, people showed their appreciation for their favorite songs — the swaggering “Gully Side,” the eerie lament, “Dying” — by interrupting them.
Buju Banton’s set was surprisingly erratic. He has one of the best song catalogs in dancehall reggae history, but on Saturday he used his roaring voice sparingly, letting the backup singers deliver many of the melodies. He talked about peace and black unity, scarcely acknowledging the protesters, and he didn’t sing “Boom Bye Bye.” As he was getting shooed offstage, he humbly said, “I’ve got to be mindful of other performers.”
Bounty Killer took the opposite tack. Using the protesters as a foil, he portrayed himself as a conquering antihero. He vowed not to be silenced, gruffly affirming his own heterosexuality. But his brief set omitted many of his biggest hits, and after an explosive opening the energy flagged. By the time he was ushered off, the crowd had grown silent, and it seemed possible that the fearsome performer known as the warlord had been saved by the bell.
The dancehall veteran Ninjaman, making what he said was his first American appearance in 15 years, entertained the crowd with playful trash talk. And Collie Buddz, the Bermudan who scored a hit with “Come Around,” was likably humble during his afternoon set. (“It’s a big stage for a white boy who can’t dance, y’know,” he said.) And one of the most impressive performances came from Simon Templer, one of the hosts, who found himself onstage after Buju Banton, facing a crowd that was losing patience with the long delays. An ominous booing arose, but he kept his cool, skillfully turning the issue of impolite concert behavior into a question of family pride. “If you was raised proper,” he said, “put your hand in the air.”
SOURCE: www.nytimes.com