Capleton's "Shot him up" .................

So in going through my archives I found an old Capleton track entitled "Shot him up" which was recorded probably way back in his hayday coming into the industry before he branded himself 'The Fire Man" and I was not so out yet and involved directly in advocacy. In some previous posts I had mentioned that the artist song's never really called for the exact form of final punishment for gays and lesbians but this oldie is unmistakable in it's ode for the types of actions to be taken, notably gunshots as prescribed for a male perceived to be involved in same sex activity.

Some of the lyrics from the scruffy mp3 recording which clearly was lifted or ripped from a vinyl record as one can hear the scratches in the background and the somewhat warped sound as compact discs were not so in fashion for singles in our local record industry. The song starts off with an anti oral sex position as is used in other songs of this type back in the day and then it segways into anti homosexual messages as well.

Excerpts include:

"Shot him up, boi yuh mussi batty rider" (batty = bottom or ass or shoot him up you must be an ass rider)

"....wah mek yuh nuh waan vagina?" (what allows you not to want vaginal sex?)

"You condemn, boi yu mussi batty rider we ago kill yuh inna Jamaica" (You're condemned you must be an ass rider we're gonna kill you in Jamaica)

"...Inna man shyt tank man want release ..." (In another man bottom/ass you want to release)

"....give him a coffin and wreath fi a permanent sleep....." (give him a coffin and a wreath for a permanent sleep

"...Mi luv punany bad and mi luv it to mi heart, mi noh mi an de pum pum could neva part" (I love vagina bad and I love it to my heart I know me and the vagina could never part)

"Annmarie and Jennifer mi luv fi see when dem walk inna dem tights and dem pum pum shorts and as mi see dem mi waan tear dem apart" (Annmaire & Jennifer I love see them walk in their tights and vagina exposing shorts and as I see them I want to tear them apart) ("tear them apart" meaning rough sex)

"...some boi dem get nasty and go tun faught pon de oman dem road dem don waan fi walk, dem a ride man donkey an ride man horse, from a boi a battyboi nuh mek him life start" (some boys get nasty and turn (faught = worthless person) on the female's road they don't want to walk they're riding men's donkey (suggesting comparative penis size) from a man is seen as gay his life is not to start

"...from a boi a battyboi gunshot fi bark..." (from a man is deemed gay gunshots are to bark) (he is to be executed)

"...weh dem get dem dirty mind & intention? dem a brag dem a boast bout dem inna name brand from de day mi noh dem dem nuh have no oman" (where they get their dirty minds from what is their intention? they're bragging and boasting they are wearing name brands (clothing/shoes) yet still they do not have a woman)

"....mi nuh see dem wid Sue mi noh see dem wid Pam mi nuh see dem wid Winsome neither Sharon, mi see dem wid Tom mi see dem wid John mi see dem wid Dick and de one name Devon" I don't see them with Sue I don't see them with Pam neither Winsome or neither Sharon I see them with John and other men mostly)

"..look how de oman dem fresh an look how dem young" (look how the women are fresh and look how they are young)

"...some boi dem get nasty and go bow dung den gone outta street gone fuck man bottom from a boi a battyboi we ago gun dat dung" (some biys get nasty and go to have anal sex once you found out we gonna gun you down)

"...lend me the 16 and the magnum from yuh nuh like nuh battyboi clean unu gun" (lend me the m16 and the magnum (popular guns used in Jamaican gangs and sung about) if you don't like a gay man then clean your gun [suggesting either clean ones gun to go and kill someone or empty the shots unto the intended target])

Those are just some of the lines from the song if there is a better quality audio source I would appreciate it as I wanted post it but is sounds scratchy. The typical message of hyper-masculinity is also reinforced in the song, the expectation of men having several female sexual partners and once one does not meet these societal expectations then one is deemed gay. This is indeed sad as one would have imagined someone under the Rastafarian order who not think of calling for death in such a cold manner or in any form for that matter on anyone else when the faith doesn't reflect that kind of end in its teachings. One wonders if these Rastas are really such or just a show to get ahead in the music industry.

It was in Sacramento in November 2010 that he faced some opposition from Stop murder music activists there:

More HERE

Also see: Capleton's Dichotomy: perception vs reality in music from January 2010. Since these responses on the ground he has faced opposition in Europe, the Caribbean and Canada and was said to have signed the Reggae Compassionate Agreement, RCA a document he refutes he has seen. Whenever we find these old tunes we must expose them as the artists who perform them for the most part have not retracted or changed their positions on the damning content, they must be held accountable as public figures.

Peace and tolerance

H