A Florida based gay rights group threatened to stage a protest if Beenie Man appeared at the concert, leading MTV to cancel the performance. The group took exception to some of Beenie Man’s lyrics that call for violence against gays like "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays" and "Queers must be killed." 

British authorities are actually considering filing charges against Beenie Man and other dancehall reggae artists that have lyrics promoting violence against gays, according to The Guardian. 

Other dancehall reggae artists are under scrutiny as well. Music of Black Origin awards (Mobo) said on Friday that they would ask their voters if dancehall reggae artists that include anti-gay lyrics should be dropped from the group’s award ceremony next month unless the artists apologize for their lyrics. 

Gay rights group Outrage! and the British black gay rights group, Stonewall, called on Mobo to exclude dancehall reggae artists Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel from their award ceremony. Both artists were nominated this past week for the best reggae single award. 

Mobo chief executive Kanya King said that they are awaiting apologies from the two artists. “If we do not receive them we will be writing to our academy and asking them what we should do next," King promised. 

Mobo organizers said in a statement that they "strongly emphasised to voters ... that the MOBOs don't support music that clearly incites violence toward gay people." According to the Guardian, Mobo organizers have said that they stress the fact that the organization does not condone homophobic lyrics on their nomination forms. Nominations are made by 2,000 members of the British record industry including DJs, promoters and retailers. 

Mobo issued a statement that said that this has worked, "People obviously did keep this in mind when voting, because the controversial Beenie Man didn't get the support he might have anticipated and as a result has not been nominated."

For his part Beenie Man has issued a public apology for his lyrics. Earlier this month he issued a statement apologizing because “certain lyrics and recordings I have made in the past may have caused distress and outrage among people whose identities and lifestyles are different from my own ... I offer my sincerest apologies to those who might have been offended, threatened or hurt by my songs." 

In 2002 he also spoke about his controversial lyrics with the Associated Press. In the interview he explained, "I don't support homosexuality because I'm not homosexual, but I don't hate gay people.  . . . Jamaicans come right out and say, 'We don't deal with homosexuals.'  . . . That's why the music is homophobic? I don't understand." 

The Mobo protest is just the latest spearheaded by Outrage. They have previously called on EMI Records UK to drop Beenie Man from their roster. Something that the company could not do even if they wanted to since the artist is signed to Virgin Records’ U.S. company, not the British company.  Virgin countered by issuing a statement explaining that, "the Beenie Man lyrics in question are from songs released on independent labels not affiliated with Virgin Records. We do not condone violence."

According to Reuters, Outrage also filed a complaint with British police over the lyrics of Beenie Man, Elephant Man and Bounty Killer. The group also turned over a dossier about the lyrical content to Scotland Yard's Race and Violent Crime Taskforce.

Related stories: 
The Guardian
Reuters
Canada.com
 
 

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