Bob marley on gays
VIDEO: One Love
ERIC CAMPBELL: It's a rhythm that changed tune forever. From the mellow sound of roots reggae, to the frenetic defeat of dancehall, reggae has put this tiny island at the centre of the music world.
DR CAROLYN COOPER: "The culture of reggae is really the culture of Jamaica, but really reggae started in the inner city of Kingston, the concrete jungle".
ERIC CAMPBELL: A jungle that raised Jamaica's favourite son.
RASTA PRIEST: "Yes Bob Marley is a special one. He's a prophet".
ERIC CAMPBELL: [walking down street] "This is where reggae began in the tough slums of Kingston and it became a soundtrack of social justice, with songs calling for equality and peace and of course one love. But along the way something bad happened".
PROTESTOR ON NEWS REPORT: "We don't want none of them in this town here".
JOURNALIST ON NEWS REPORT: "News spread that a gay dude had sort refuge in a clothing store".
CROWD CHANTING ON NEWS REPORT: "We wanna see him! We wanna view him!"
ERIC CAMPBELL: "It's a story of one love".
TANYA STEPHENS: "It just needed to change".
ERIC CAMPBELL
“No, woman… No sob. Everything will acquire better. Love will return, the rain will stop, and happiness will come.” Bob Marley didn’t write that reggae anthem, or at least he doesn’t get full credit for it. Although his calm Jamaican-accented voice rings in our minds when we think of that track, it was originally performed by Vincent Ford, a friend of the performer, who also lived in a ghetto and worked in a communal kitchen. Although there is no clear history, it is believed that this young bloke inspired Bob to create a tune in which he calmed a young woman from her nightmares, offering her cherish and understanding, which is ironic, since Marley had brief or no interest in the happiness of the women around him.
Although the whole world has positioned Bob Marley as a calm figure, almost fasten to that of a prophet, in reality, he was more similar to John Lennon than to Emperor Haile Selassie I, whom he revered. In other words, many believe that Bob lived to vocalize about social problems, bring people together, and teach us that love was all we needed; however, like the former Beatle, after gaining fame, he only devoted himself to writing songs that could beco
Violently anti-gay lyrics create rift in reggae music
Kingston, Jamaica ? A generation ago, reggae anthems by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh preached concepts of “one love,” legal marijuana and social justice.
But today’s version of Jamaica’s native tune is more likely to advocate casual sex, opulent dress and sometimes, critics say, violence against gays.
The issue of homophobia in dancehall reggae took center stage this past week after Grammy-winning artist Beenie Man was booted from a concert associated with Sunday’s MTV Video Melody Awards in Miami.
MTV pulled the Jamaican from the roster after Florida male lover rights groups threatened to protest because of past Beenie Man lyrics fancy “I’m dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays” and “Queers must be killed.”
“These lyrics only incite hatred and violence toward gays and lesbians,” said Brett Lock of Outrage!, a London-based gay rights group leading boycotts of Beenie Man and several other artists.
The episode has drawn mixed reaction in reggae’s birthplace, where homophobia frequently surfaces and issues of sexuality are rarely discussed
One love, one hate, one hope: Tackling homophobia in Jamaica
The tune of One Love became notorious for homophobic hate. But a new generation of reggae artists is turning the tide.
Jamaican men pride themselves on machismo, but they tend to get all shy and giggly when they come across Etana.
"Etana is the strong one," one man tells us excitedly as she greets fans on a palm-fringed beach.
"I'm telling people I met Etana," another says, texting furiously.
The demure and constantly smiling mother of two is one of the rising stars of reggae, spreading a message of love and acceptance while challenging some of the anti-gay sentiments expressed by an earlier generation of singers.
"Anything that is positive and hopeful, I'll be a part of it," she says.
"Anything that creates divide and separation, I'm not a part of it."
From love to hate
Reggae came out the slums of Jamaica in the 1960s and within a decade reached a global audience.
It was widely seen as a soundtrack of social justice and its greatest anthem was One Love — the smash knock of Bob Marley that called on humanity to, "get together and feel all right"