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July 23, 2008
Germany considers restricting violent anti-gay reggae
Over the next couple of months, The Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons, a department in the Government of Germany, will be deliberating on whether or not to jump on the "fight murder music" bandwagon.
Their aim is to carefully investigate the music of dancehall artists like Elephant Man and T.O.K., in an effort to determine whether their material should be placed on Germany's "Index of Harmful Materials." Rather than an outright censorship, being on this index would completely limit the level to which these musicians could promote their work.
The English version of Deutsche Welle. quoted Volker Beck, the leader of the Green Party in Germany's parliament - who said, "Those in Jamaica who invoke hatred should not earn money with their music in Germany." He went further to call on major retailers of music online to remove CDs deemed hateful from their inventories.
"The Index of Harmful Materials" contains media items intended to induce hatred, like productions that promote or glorify war and violence.
Glorifying violence and the murder of gays has been the cause for some unraveled purse strings among a few reggae artists over recent years. There have been threats of boycotts on Jamaica and many canceled events, initiated by gay rights groups around the world.
These have in turn been countered by 'the reggae community for freedom of speech,' who plan to raise their point during New York's carnival celebrations this year.