RAP AND REGGAE STARS IN TROUBLE AND AN APOLOGY
RAP and reggae stars could face jail under a crackdown on anti-gay pop
songs being planned by legal chiefs.
It follows complaints by gay activist group Outrage against singers
which it says all incited their audience to kill gays and lesbians.
The apology is too little too late and most people do
not think it is real. He has not properly denounced his lyrics and the
offending albums are still on sale.
Beenie
man is the latest reggae star to feel the backlash against him as major
sponsor of his tours have pulled out and will have nothing to do with
a star that advocates this kind of discrimination. It hits the star
where it will make the most difference and that is in his pocket.
the move against anti-gay songs is being planned by the Director of
Public Prosecutions, Kenneth Macdonald, QC.
He has decided to take personal charge of a case in which several leading
reggae singers are accused of inciting fans to burn and kill homosexuals.
Mr Macdonald believes there may be enough evidence to bring a case of
incitement to violence.
The case centres on the 'dance-hall' genre, a variant of traditional
reggae which has swept across the Atlantic from Jamaica and is hugely
popular in Britain. Outrage complained that lyrics by three artists
in particular - Beenie Man, Bounty Killer and Elephant Man - all incited
the killing of gays and lesbians.
In one song Beenie Man says: 'I am dreaming of a new Jamaica. . . come
to execute all the gays.' In another, he instructs listeners to kill
gay and lesbian DJs.
Elephant Man, meanwhile, has sung lyrics which appear to condone the
shooting of gays 'like birds'.
And Bounty Killer talks of starting fires under 'mister fasgoty', patois
for 'faggot', an abusive term for a homosexual.
All three artists have been nominated for music industry awards.
In June, Beenie Man, who is from Jamaica and whose real name is Anthony
Davis, had a concert cancelled at a London venue after protests about
his material.
He was also questioned by detectives. A file has since been sent to
the Crown Prosecution Service and Mr Macdonald is understood to believe
that there is a chance of bringing an incitement case before a jury.
Gay activist Peter Tatchell said earlier this year: 'It is appalling
for members of one minority to attack members of another minority.
'Given our common experience of prejudice, we should stand together
united against all forms of discrimination and violence.
'These reggae bigots are fuelling anti-gay hatred and violence.'
But Mr Macdonald's crusade is likely to be fraught with problems. Many
of the stars involved are based overseas and would have to be caught
performing the lyrics in Britain to face prosecution.
The maximum sentence for incitement to murder is life in jail. But critics
could argue that there are equally offensive lyrics in many other pop
songs which glamourise sex and violence.
A spokesman for the DPP said last night: 'He is looking at the lyrics
to see if there is a case for incitement to assault.
'The lyrics that have been brought to the director's attention are words
that incite attacks on gays. That is the allegations that we are looking
at.
'This is something that the director is personally disturbed by. He
wants to look at it
very carefully to see if there are possible offences.'
A Crown Prosecution Service source said Mr Macdonald has been looking
at the dancehall songs because a specific complaint had been made but
would not be looking into other songs unless protests were made to police.
Mr Macdonald was a controversial choice as DPP. A leading defence barrister,
he was a founding member of Cherie Blair's law chambers Matrix - leading
to accusations that his appointment smacked of cronyism.
In the days after his appointment was announced last August, it emerged
that he had convictions for cannabis possession and for
speeding.
Edited
by Jeremy Bedford with extra information
Based on an article in the Daily Mail by b.taylor
