Letter: The black and white issue of ragga music

Sir: I would like to comment on the letters of Mark King and Rob Brettle ('Ragga, 'racism' and attacks on gays', 8 October) on Buju Banton's controversial record Boom Bye Bye. While I am not a fan of the record, it has to be judged in the context of the Jamaican culture and audience that it was aimed at. In Jamaica, the majority of ragga records are homophobic, sexually explicit or about guns. However, 'gay bashing' as a result of such records is almost unheard of.

Both of your letter writers condemn and seek the banning of records that incite murder. They deny any racial motive for doing so. However, in rap music, and again with ragga, a large number of black artists make records freely speaking of killing other blacks, as if it is an accepted part of 'ghetto' living. This in turn gives black youngsters the wrong type of images and role models to aspire to. It is therefore not surprising to find that most killers of black males are not white racists, but other black males. In fact, the Ku-Klux-Klan has been known to send messages of 'congratulations' to rappers and black gang leaders, for continuing the black on black killing and saving them the trouble of doing it.

The irony is that there is no massive public outcry to have these records banned. This is because society views black life as having less value than the lives of whites. Yet should black artists justly condemn racist authority (as in case of NWA's 'F*** Tha Police' and ICE T's 'Cop Killa'), there is a big outcry and calls for censorship. The implication is that blacks should only concern themselves with 'black' issues, which society cares little about.

Yours,

SOLOMON MALCOLM

London, E11

11 October