Murder Music

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Murder Music is a term coined by homosexual-rights activist Peter Tatchell in the mid-1990s to describe the homophobic work of certain Jamaican musicians, primarily Dancehall and Ragga artistes.

Tatchell, and organizations such as Human Rights Watch, have accused Beenie Man, Elephant Man, Sizzla, Bounty Killa, Vybez Kartel, Capleton, T.O.K., Buju Banton and others promoting homophobic violence through their music.

Although music has been used to communicate dominance and war and violence in various ways throughout history most cultures have moved beyond violence and calls for murder or the use of inciting violence in music.

Tatchell has called for laws against homophobic music and participated in protests outside concerts. A long-running target of his criticism has been reggae artists whose lyrics seem to support violence, including murder, of gay men. Tatchell's campaign began in the early 1990s when Buju Banton's song "Boom bye-bye" was released and has continued to date. He has picketed the MOBO Awards ceremony to protest at their inviting performers of what he terms "murder music".^[1] Tatchell received death threats and was labelled a racist. Tatchell defended himself by pointing to a life's work campaigning against racism, and stated that his statements on Jamaica were in support of terrorised black groups within Jamaica.

Tatchell has also criticised the rapper Eminem, commenting that "it's not hard to imagine Eminem as a woman-hating, self-loathing, repressed gay man" on the basis of his appearance and "obsession" with gay sex.^[2] In December 2005, UK singer Robbie Williams won £200,000 damages from The People newspaper and the magazines Star and Hot Stars after they published false claims that he was secretly homosexual. Tatchell commented publicly that "[Williams'] legal action has created the impression he thinks it is shameful to be gay".^[3]