Anti gay flag performance
“ don’t have that and they’ve never had that. “We’re growing up in America’s backyard, receiving the idea that a man is supposed to be in control, to have money, to provide, to be autonomous,” says academic and activist Carla Moore. It is one facet of the uncompromisingly traditional model of masculinity promoted in dancehall. Songs like Notch’s iconic “Nuttin No Go So”, with its insistent bassline and catchy flow, is essentially a list of sexual dos and don’ts. Their words reinforced a moral code, a conservative image of intercourse grounded in strong religious values. Artists sang about sex as openly as they did about hardship. The genre emerged in the early 1980s, a time of intense political violence, with raw lyrics that expressed the tough realities of daily life. The ritual of a proper downtown dancehall is highly codified, with discrete musical sections, including songs to get women on the dance floor, a gospel selection and the notorious “dash out”, where hips loosen and dance moves are at their most provocative. A whole economy revolves around the dancehall: dancers prepare fresh looks with the help of stylists, hairdressers and tailors, while a small army of technicians, DJs and mic men are enlisted for the party itself.
Given the widespread vilification of LGBT people, it is not surprising that homophobia entered Jamaica’s most prominent art form.ĭancehall is not just a genre of music, it is a major cultural event. Anti-discrimination laws do not protect Jamaicans on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity, while the “abominable crime of buggery”, as it was termed by a colonial-era law, is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. In a country with troubling levels of poverty and unemployment, homophobic violence is only part of a high rate of general violence: in 2016 Jamaica had the fourth highest murder rate in the world, according to the UN. After Williamson’s death, a crowd gathered in his street, cheering and chanting the lyrics to “Boom Bye Bye”. Openly gay public figures have been murdered, including fashion designer Dexter Pottinger and J-Flag co-founder Brian Williamson. Between 20 the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-Flag), the country’s most prominent LGBT activist group, documented 231 cases of homophobic violence and discrimination: the real figure is probably much higher. Jamaica has a history of hostility to sexual minorities. Not everyone agrees why this has happened. Yet today, homophobic lyrics have almost disappeared from dancehall. Most notorious is “Boom Bye Bye”, the 1988 hit by Buju Banton, with a chorus that celebrates shooting a gay man in the head. It was Beenie Man, D’Angel’s ex-husband, often called the “king of dancehall”, who sang: “I’m thinking of a new Jamaica, come to execute all of the gays.” He was one of several artists, among them Elephant Man, Sizzla and Vybz Kartel, who achieved success with music that advocated the burning, drowning and hanging of gay men. Despite dancehall’s popularity on the island, D’Angel’s performance at Pride was still a surprise for many: this is a genre that has long been notorious for the brutal homophobia in its lyrics. Faster than its progenitor, with lyrics rapped in Jamaican Patois, the genre has filtered into the international mainstream via the pop fusions of Rihanna, Sean Paul and Drake.
The crowd knew the words to every song.ĭ’Angel sings dancehall, an evolution of reggae that dominates Jamaica’s airwaves. D’Angel rapped and invited a trans woman in an elegant dress to twirl on stage. So were the vibrant outfits of Jamaica’s LGBT community, there for the crowning event of the country’s fourth Pride week in July. Dressed in orange with matching pigtails, she was a shock of colour against the greenery. It was midday when D’Angel took to the stage in Hope Gardens, Kingston, Jamaica.