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Buju Banton faces up to 20 years in prison
Buhu Banton
'Faggots have to die' Buju Banton on drug charge
Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton, whose songs have advocated the killing of gays and lesbians, is in a US federal prison in Miami following his arrest on a drug charge.
Banton, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie, was charged on Thursday with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, said Drug Enforcement Administration spokesman David Melenkevitz.
He will be transferred to Tampa, Florida, where the case originates. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Banton was in the news earlier this month when his Rasta Got Soul received a Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album, provoking the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Gay Men of African Descent and the National Black Justice Coalition to organise a petition in protest.
Banton is only one of a number of Jamaican musicians, including Shabba Ranks, Beenie Man and Bounty Killer, who have released songs calling for violent and murderous attacks on homosexuals, but he became particularly notorious on the release of his 90s hit Boom Bye Bye, which boasts that 'faggots get up and run' when he comes, that 'they have to die', and that he will shoot them in the head or 'burn them up bad' with acid.
In August, Banton had his series of concerts in Las Vegas, Chicago, Dallas and Houston cancelled after a protest organised by LGBT groups.
