DANCEHALL STORM: Mercury Records is already starting...

DANCEHALL STORM: Mercury Records is already starting a damage-control campaign for its first album by dancehall reggae star Buju Banton, which isn’t due in stores until June. The Jamaican artist has been at the center of a storm over lyrics that have been accused of encouraging violence against gays.

Among the plans are for the company to finance gay-rights public service announcements, with script approval by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), says Lisa Cortes, Mercury vice president of A&R.; Cortes also says that the new album will not contain any references to gays.

Banton came under severe attack last year from both gay-rights groups and the media for the 3-year-old song “Boom Bye Bye,” which includes a call for a gay male couple to be shot. Mercury officials insist the company signed Banton last year without knowing about this previous material, recorded for independent labels.

While the 19-year-old singer now says he never meant to incite violence against gays, he has continued to make anti-gay statements, which he defends as a product of his strict religious beliefs.

GLAAD’s public affairs director Donald Suggs is taking a wait-and-see attitude on Mercury’s actions. “We’re not satisfied with Banton’s response (so far),” he says. “If he does anything else to perpetuate homophobia, we don’t rule out the possibility of further protests.”