Anti-gay artists in line for awards

international | rights, freedoms and repression | other press Wednesday August 25, 2004 14:34 by pat c

BRITAIN’S leading black music awards were in disarray last night after two reggae stars under investigation for inciting homophobic violence were nominated despite assurances that such artists would be excluded.

Organisers of the Music of Black Origin Awards were satisfied that Beenie Man, a top-selling Jamaican reggae star associated with anti-homosexual lyrics, had been excluded from the poll after making pleas to the voting panel to ignore homophobic artists.

But gayrights campaigners were furious that Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel, Jamaican artists who have both advocated the killing of homosexuals in their lyrics, were nevertheless nominated for Best Reggae Single at the Mobo Awards. The organisers said that Elephant Man had renounced his anti-gay lyrics but they did not appear to have checked the track record of Vybz Kartel.

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