PROMOTING MURDER ISN’T A “CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE”

January 29, 2010

Neil Portnow
President
The Recording Academy

Dear Mr. Portnow:

ju Ba nto n for a Gr am my in the category of Best Reggae
y nominated Bu
When the Recording Academ mo ted the mu rde r of ga y people throughout his career.
o has pro
Album, it honored someone wh
a yo uth an d co nti nu es to pe rform, he sings that “batty
nton wrote as ad”
In “Boom, Bye Bye,” which Ba “fa --o t”) “h ave to die ” an d he will “shoot them in the he
equivalent to
bwoy” and “batty man” (slurs s ago , he ref use d req ue sts to stop performing the son
g.
three mo nth
or “burn them.” As recently as gay
n's 19 93 rec ord , “M r. M en tion,” glorifies the shooting of
m Banto
Another song, “Batty Rider” fro qu ote d in ne ws rep ort s as saying: “This is a fight, and
as I
nton wa s
men. And in October 2009, Ba the war between me and fa--ots.’”
son gs ‘th ere is no en d to
said in one of my Jamaica,
vio len ce he re an d esp eci all y in Banton’s home country of
anti-gay mes
This type of music has fueled bia ns— inc lud ing mu rder—are common and someti
men an d les tists of a
where hate crimes against gay na tio n in a let ter to you. Your response—that “ar
his no mi
celebrated. It is why we opposed ha ve be en no mi nated or featured on the teleca
st, despite
pe rsp ect ive s
variety of political or cultural yo ur de fen se that the Grammy Awards hono
r musical
sur pri sin g, as is
protests and backlash”—is
litics.”
achievement “regardless of po a “political
mu rde r of ga y pe op le thr ou gh their music aren’t reflecting gal
Performers who glorify the y’r e refl ect ing the ir ha tre d and promoting brutal and ille
olitics,” the
or cultural perspective,” or “p le. An d to ho no r an art ist such as Buju Banton, honors
his
ocent pe op
violence against a group of inn
extraordinarily hateful work. ies below,
y & Le sbi an All ian ce Ag ain st Defamation and the signator
r, the Ga ebrates
The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Cente my sho w to de no un ce all music that promotes or cel
evised Gr am
strongly urge you to use the tel the artists who perform such mu
sic.
t any gro up of pe op le, an d
violence agains

Sincerely,
ation
Gay and Lesbian Medical Associ
L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center Gay Men of African Descent
Defamation nder Education
Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against International Foundation for Ge
n
National Black Justice Coalitio Queers for Economic Justice
People For the American Way OutRage!
nter
New York LGBT Community Ce Stop Murder Music Campaign
ject iance
New York City Anti-Violence Pro The Maryland Black Family All
ity Center ality (AIB)
The San Diego LGBT Commun The American Institute of Bisexu
Equality California (EQCA) Bisexual Resource Center
BiNet USA Immigration Equality
rk (NYABN)
New York Area Bisexual Netwo Gay Liberation Network
LGBT Centers Inc.
CenterLink: The Community of New England GLBT Veterans,
ck Prides, Inc.
International Federation of Bla