Gay Hate Singers Nominated For Hip-Hop Awards

(New York City) Five singers who advocate the murder of gays and lesbians have been nominated for the prestigious Source Hip-Hop Music Awards 2004, to be held in Miami on October 10.

Elephant Man, Sizzla, Vybz Kartel, T.O.K., Beenie Man (pictured) have been nominated in the category ‘Dancehall-reggae artist of the Year’.

All have released records variously inciting the shooting, burning, drowning and hanging of lesbians and gay men.

The nominations were announced at a time when the singers are under scrutiny by gays for their music. 

Last week, The organizers of the MOBOs, Britain's urban music awards canceling the nominations of reggae superstars Elephant Man and Vybz Kartel, after they refused to apologize for their lyrics inciting the murder of lesbian and gay people. The MOBOs had been under intense pressure from British LGBT rights group Outrage. (story)

Promoting hate is illegal in Britain.  

But, for gay rights groups in this country it is more difficult to attack the singers, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation says.

First, there are the First Amendment issues.  Second, at a time when most gay civil rights groups are actively courting African Americans to support the fight against constitutional amendments against gay marriage there is the fear attacking black singers would been seen as hateful.

"One of our concerns has been that people don't understand what has been sung because the lyrics are in Jamaican patois," GLAAD's Stephen Macias told 365Gay.com.

"GLAAD is looking at the situation to see what to do about the nominations.  What may work in the UK may not work in the United States."

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force called on the Source Awards to take back the nominations.

"We feel strongly that hate speech and incitements to violence should never be honored and its incumbent upon the organizers to rescind these nominations," NGLTF executive director Matt Foreman told 365Gay.com.

"This is not about free speech this about rewarding hate speech."

Sizzla, recently performed a concert in Montreal, but it was only allowed into Canada after he signed guarantees with the government that he would not perform music that promotes homophobia. (story)

His hit tune Pump Up has the line “Shot battybwoy, my big gun boom (Shoot queers, my big gun goes boom)”.

Bounty Killer and Vybz Kartel have recorded and performed songs which urge listeners to shoot, burn, lynch and drown lesbians and gay men. They are scheduled to appear at a concert in Newark, New Jersey on Sunday (story)

Beenie Man concerts have been cancelled in several US cities.  The most recent was MTV's decision not to allow him to perform at a MTV Music Video Awards concert in Miami. (story) But, the biggest cancellation came from RJR Reynolds which axed Beenie Man from all of its Salem Stir Your Senses Tour after it was made aware of the nature of the lyrics. (story)