I'm not sure if this thread is allowed, lock it if it is (or if it gets) inappropriate.
Recently I started listening to Damian Marley's new CD "Welcome To Jamrock" a lot. I was floored that I found a CD that reminded me of Bob's music but still had a modern touch. The album is loaded with references to love and peace, and it also makes some political statements (mainly about Jamaica). So I started to search the internet for more about Damian and I found an article about homophobic reggae lyrics which kind of caught me off guard...
http://www.keithboykin.com/arch/2005_10_01.htmlI had heard of T.O.K. before because they had a hit last year. The song was really religious, but then I downloaded the song mentioned in that article and it was basically a celebratory chant about burning gays which shocked me. Also Buju Banton beating 6 people for being accused of being gay was shocking. Also Bounty Killer, who's on Marley's album (and a No Doubt album) has a reputation for making anti-gay lyrics.
Damian explains this as a "spiritual thing" and that gays "aren't part of his life"... to me that sounds like he's siding with his fellow reggae artists. The thing that bothers me is that Kanye will come out and speak against this, and because he's got a #1 hit record, people will brush him off as a "cocky, arrogant bastard".
I really just needed to vent because this kind of gave me a weird vibe about Damian... Would Damian (or any other artist's) views on the subject make you feel a certain way about listening to their music, even if the lyrics didn't mention it? Should you boycott an artist over something like this? Do you think someone like Bob Marley who constantly wrote songs about love and peace shared similar views?
I know I couldn't listen to a song that said "if we find a gay man, we will burn him"... but if Damian Marley writes a song about peace, and he supports artists that think like this, should that stop you from listening to him?
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