The cancellation of another Buju Banton concert in theUnited States, due to pressure from gay rights groups, has prompted anangry response from the singjay's management.

Banton wasscheduled to perform on October 8 at the Urban Lounge in Salt LakeCity, Utah, but the show was cancelled Tuesday, according to the Deseret News.

UrbanPartners Inc, the company that books shows for the Urban Lounge, calledoff the show after hearing that Banton was beingtargeted by gay groups.

"Wheninitially scheduling the Buju Banton event, we were unaware of hishateful anti-gay message. Upon further review, Urban Lounge has decidedto cancel the event," Urban Partners Inc said in a statement.

Unfairly treated

ButTracii McGregor, vice-president and general manager of Banton'sGargamel Music, said he was being unfairly treated. She accused gayactivists of "thuggery". She told the Virginia publication, Style Weekly, that, "There's no room for violence in [Banton's] music."

McGregorsaid she was trying to find an alternate venue in the Utah capitol tohold the show. Several of the shows on Banton's 'Rasta Got Soul' UStour have been cancelled as promoters feel the pressure of gay groupswho say his music encourages violence against homosexuals. They haveused lyrics to his controversial 1992 anti-gay anthem, Boom Bye Bye, as reference.

Three years after Boom Bye Bye's release, Banton recorded the epic Til Shilohalbum, which was a hit on the college and underground circuit in theUS. It revealed his conversion to Rastafari and returned worldwidesales of over 500,000 units.

More trouble is on the horizon forBanton. His September 26 show at The National venue in Richmond,Virginia, is in danger of cancellation. That day, the city's annualPride Festival will be held at the Gay Community Center.

"Ourgoal really is to have the show cancelled. If we're not successful inhaving the show stopped, it's fair to say there will be action taken,"Jay Squires, president of the community centre, told Style Weekly.