Incitement to Murder: Lyrics of Dancehall DJs
Transcribed and translated by Larry Chang
If battymen did not exist, DJs would have to invent them or they'd have nothing to sing about.
Buju Banton |
Boom Bye Bye
(gunshot sounds) |
Eni taim Buju Bantan kom
Batibuai git op ahn ron
Bum bai bai iina batibuai hed
Ruud buai no promuot no naasi man, dem ha fi ded
Sen fi di matik an di Uzi insted
Shuut dem, no com ef wi shat dem.
Gai kom nier mi den im skin mos piil
Bon im op bad laik uol taia wiil.
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Whenever Buju Banton comes
Faggots get up and run
Boom bai bai in a faggot’s head
Rude boys don’t promote nasty men, they have to die
Send for the automatic and the Uzi instead
Shoot them, don’t come if we shot them
If a guy comes near me then his skin must peel*
Burn him up badly, like an old tire wheel.
*from acid thrown on him |
Beenie Man |
An Op De
Hands Up There |
Bun chi-chi man mek mi si di an a guop
Mek mi si di an a guop, mek mi si di an a guop
Hang chi chi gal wid a lang piis a ruop.
|
Burn chi-chi man let me see the hands go up
Let me see the hands go up, let me see the hands go up
Hang lesbians with a long piece of rope. |
|
Damn |
Aim tingkin av a niu Jumieka
We com fi exikiut aal a di gie!
|
I’m thinking of a new Jamaica
To come that executes all gays! |
Batiman Fi Ded
Faggots Must Die |
Aal batiman fi ded!
Fram yu fok bati den a kapa ahn led
No man no fi av a aneda man iina him bed.
|
All faggots must die!
If you fuck bottom then it's copper* and lead*
No man should have another man in his bed.
*bullets |
Ruol Diip
Roll Deep |
Ruol diip madafoka, kil pusi-soka
Tek a bazuka ahn kil bati-foka.
|
Roll deep motherfucker, kill pussy-sucker
Take a bazooka and kill bottom-fuckers. |
Elephant Man |
A No Fi Wi Faalt
It's Not Our Fault |
Batiman fi ded!
Pliiz maak mi wod
Gimi di Tek-9
Shuut dem laik bod. |
Queers must die!
Please mark my words
Give me the Tec-9*
Shoot them like birds.
* semi-automatic assault pistol |
Wi No Laik Gie
We Don't Like Gays |
Batiman fi ded! Tek dem bai sopraiz
Get a shat iina yu hed, iina mi big gun colaid
Gimi mi Tek-9, Jinaral B, wid di kruom wa a shain.
Ari Tadla, shat out a buga-man.
|
Faggots must be killed! Take them by surprise
Get a shot in your head, in my big gun collide
Give me my Tec-9, General B*, with the shiny chrome.
Harry Toddler*, shoot down a queer man.
* colleagues of Elephant Man
|
Lag Aan
Log On |
Lag aan ahn step pan chi chi man
Daans wi a daans ahn a bon out aal friiki man
Step pan im laik a uol claat
A daans wi a daans ahn a krosh out aal bingi man
Du di waak, mek mi si di lait ahn di tuoch dem faas.
|
Log on* and step on a queer man
We're dancing to burn out all freaky men
Step on him like an old cloth
We're dancing to crush out all queer men
Do the walk, show me your lighter and torch fast.
* A dance with foot motion as if squashing a cockroach - the lyrics boast about crushing queers.
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Bounty Killer
(with Babycham) |
Aneda Levl
Another Level |
Bon a faia pan a pof ahn misa fagati uh huh
Pup man fi jroun an dat a yaad man filasafi uh huh.
|
Burn a fire on poofs and mister faggoty uh huh
Fart men must drown and that's yard man philosophy uh huh. |
T.O.K. |
Chi Chi Man
Faggot |
My kruu, my daagz, set ruulz, set laaz
Far wii riprizent di laads av yaads
A gial aluon a fiil op mi baalz.
Fram dem a paar iina chi chi man kiaar
Bliez di faia mek wi bon dem! Bon dem!
Fram dem a jrink iina chi chi man baar
Bliez di faia mek we don dem! Don dem!
So mi go so, yuh si we ai si?
Nigaz wen yu duiin dat
Nof a dem a friik, dem a kiari aal dem doti ak
Tog niga wana-biiz, nof a dem a lik it bak
If dem bring it tu wi, huol on, nof kapa a shat
Kapa shat raiz op, evri kialiko go rat-tat-tat
Rat-tat-tat, evri chi-chi man dem ha fi get flat.
Get flat! Mi ahn mai niggas a go mek a pak
Chi-chi man fi ded ahn das a fak.
So mi go so la la la la la la la la la la la
Na go mek no chi-chi man waak rait ya so
Fram a bwai a duiit wi a go don dem rait nou
Lef him huol faambli dem a blou wou.
A siit fram faar, mi ahn dem naa go paar
A nof a dem bwai a smuok man sigiaar
Mi ahn dem kuda neva iina rang baar
Dem bwai de flex tuu bizaar.
|
My crew, my dogs, set rules, set laws
For we represent the lords of yards
Only girls feel up my balls.
If they're hanging in a queer man’s car
Blaze the fire, let’s burn them! Burn them!
If they're drinking in a queer bar
Blaze the fire, let’s finish them! Finish them!
That's how I go, do you see what I see?
Niggas when you are doing that
Many are freaks, they bring all their dirty acts
Thug nigga wannabees, lots of them are doing it
If they approach us, hold on, much copper shots
Copper shots fly, every calico ( gun ) goes rat-tat-tat
Rat-tat-tat, every queer has to run for cover.
Hit the floor! Me and my niggas will make a pact
Faggots must die and that’s a fact.
That's how I go, la la la la la la la la
Not going to let any faggot go by right here
If a boy is doing it we're going to finish him right now
Leaving his whole family to hell.
I see it from far, me and those guys won't get on
Many of those boys smoke a man's cigar
Me and them could never be in a wrong bar
Those guys go on too bizarre.
|
Capelton |
Pior Sadam
Totally Sodom |
Yu no si a batiman dem?
A sadamait dem
A iidn dem buai ...
Yu no si a ded man dem? ...
Fram mi foun dem gilti aftaraal ...
Jojment guaahn tek dem iina di Jojment baal ...
Dis di Prafit, dem hed a ruol laik ...
Raasklaat tek dem iina di Jojment baal
Dis di Empara, yu nuo yu hed guaahn bos ...
Yu no waahn no gial, yu hed a ruol pan di schriit.
|
Don't you see they're faggots?
They're sodomites
Those guys are heathens ...
Don't you see they're dead men? ...
Once I find them guilty after all ...
Judgement will take them in the judgement ball ...
Disrespect the Prophet, their heads'll roll like ...
Raasklaat* will take them in the judgement ball
Disrespect the Emperor, your head'll get busted ...
If you don't want girls, your head will roll in the street.
* Jamaican expletive
|
Muo Faia
More Fire |
Muo faia ...
Shuda nuo se Kiepltan bon batiman
Di siem ting a aplai to di lezbian
Dem shuda nuo se Kiepltan bon batiman
An mi bon out dem kanfiujan.
... Faia fi a man ef a nex man him saada ...
Se mi bon evriting fram mi nuo se dem gie.
Wen mi a chrad dong Mandivil
Lait op di faia aia, dem naa uon skil
Aal bugaman an sadamait fi get kil.
|
More fire ...
They should know Capleton burns battymen
The same thing applies to the lesbian
They should know Capleton burns battymen
And I burn out their confusion.
Fire for a man, if he screws another man
I say I burn everything once I know they're gay.
When I trod down to Mandeville
Light up the fire higher, they're not skilled
All buggers and sodomites should be killed.
|
Vybz Kartel |
Gonz Laik Main
Guns Like Mine |
Kaatel bos wan iina batibuai spain ...
|
Kartel fires one in a faggot's spine ...
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If you know of any other lyrics that should be included here, please submit them to Killing Words
For a more complete list of offensive dancehall lyrics see 
Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence;
does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge.
~ Toni Morrison ~
Nobel Prize Address, 1993 December 7
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RELATED NEWS
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COMMENTARY
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- Jamaican companies to withdraw support
- Capleton shows cancelled
- A wide-ranging protest campaign against dancehall reggae music with anti-gay lyrics has led to the cancellation of several U.S. concerts by the artist Capleton. - Gay.com, 2004/10/1
- OutRage leader receives death threats
A BOUNTY HAS reportedly been taken out on the life of Peter Tatchell, one of the most vocal spokespersons leading the fight against eight dancehall artistes. - The Star, 2004-9/28 Veteran gay and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell has apparently been receiving death threats following the ongoing campaign against homophobia in reggae and dancehall music lyrics. - Gay.com, 2004/9/27
- Buju Banton concerts cancelled
Manchester police have cancelled a concert tonight by Buju Banton, the Jamaican reggae singer whose lyrics contain references to shooting and throwing acid on gay people, for fear of public disorder. - Guardian, 2004/9/23 Promoters of the Manchester, England, concert by controversial reggae star Buju Banton have been forced to cancel the event, after local police expressed fears over public safety. - Gay.com, 2004/9/23
- Dancehall's Vicious Side: Anti-Gay Attitude
Over the past month, Beenie Man has found himself at the
center of a growing controversy over antigay lyrics in
dancehall reggae ... that denounce gay men (known pejoratively as "chi-chi men" or as "batty boys," after a slang term for buttocks) and
women. And now the British gay-rights organization Outrage,
prompted by a Jamaican group called J-Flag (the Jamaican
Forum for Lesbians, All-sexuals and Gays), has begun a
campaign against antigay lyrics in dancehall reggae.
Beenie Man concerts have been canceled throughout Europe,
Outrage is demanding that Scotland Yard investigate him
for, in the organization's words, "inciting murder," and he
was dropped from an MTV-sponsored performance in Miami. - Kelefa Sanneh, New York Times , 2004/9/6
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Some people are wondering why foreigners should have the right to interfere with our home-grown dancehall boys. Well, it is not enough to blame outsiders for forcing us to confront the multidimensional hate messages that are encoded in much of dancehall music.
When local citizens draw attention to the issue, they are usually dismissed as irrelevant and out of step with modern trends and all the new found freedoms to abuse others in the name of religion, music and other cultural prerogatives. - Glenda Simms , Sunday Gleaner, 2004/10/10
THE TIMING, if not the wording, of the statement issued last Friday by six companies which utilise Jamaican music and entertainers to varying degrees is a clear indicator that the pressure of overseas gay rights organisations has struck home.
The six, a prominent sampling of corporate Jamaica, have taken a stand that they will "no longer lend their names to anything that incites or promotes violence"; indicating that, while reggae and dancehall have been a source of pride, concerns have been raised about "the content and tone of some of the music". - Gleaner Editorial, 2004/10/4 As a Portmore resident I have unfortunately had to get accustomed to this filth being hurled at me, morning, noon and night especially on weekends. I wonder how people can be productive when they do not listen to anything edifying. What is worse is that their children are often under-performers in school because the violent and lewd lyrics occupy a lot of space in their brains and influence their actions. - Letter to The Gleaner,2004/10/4 THE HOMOSEXUAL community in Britain and America has scored major victories against some of the violence-promoting Jamaican deejays and as a consistent critic of negative dancehall, I am happy that some group has had the clout and courage to send a clear signal to these fellows.
It is ironic that the successful career-jolting of the highly ambitious deejays should come from a group so out of sync with Christian morality, but just as the capitalist West and Communist Soviet Union had to come together to defeat Hitler and the Nazis, so it is necessary to make strategic alliances with groups with whom one is vehemently opposed to fight certain causes. It is a shame that it has taken people outside of Jamaica to register this decisive opposition to lyrics promoting violence, when people of money and influence in Jamaica have used their money to promote shows which feature these merchants of death under the guise of entertainment. - Ian Boyne, Sunday Gleaner, 2004/10/3 Lyrics urging the shooting, hanging and burning of gay people are the
musical equivalent of crack. The pushers are the singers and record
companies. Motivated by greed, they stir prejudice to boost sales. They
are poisoning the minds of black youth; encouraging some to believe it
is okay to murder other human beings. - Peter Tatchell, Letter to The Nation, 2004/10/2 |
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