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Dancehall reggae artist Beenie Man is cancelled from an appearance as part
of the MTV Music Awards because of homophobic lyrical content. The can-
cellation is one of several actions against Beenie Man, and other dancehall
artists, including Elephant Man and Vybz Cartel , initiated by gay rights
groups.
Controversy arises over Incubus ' single "Megalomaniac " because of images
of a winged character resembling Hitler and another character resembling
President George Bush . Critics call for the video to be pulled from MTV and
other outlets for being "anti-American." The band says that the song, con-
taining the lyric, "Hey megalomaniac, you're no Jesus, you're no fucking
Elvis ­ Step down, step down" was a criticism of Bush. "The people who are
bashing human beings, American citizens, for their opinions, those are the
most un-American people out there," said Incubus singer Brandon Boyd .
"When people start allowing that kind of behavior, that's when we start
walking back into the dark ages."
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Fox News host Bill O'Reilly called Jadakiss a "smear merchant" after the
rapper releases his song "Why." The song contains the lyric, "Why did Bush
knock down the towers?" which is edited out of the song at most radio sta-
tions. Jadakiss's label, Interscope, re-releases the video with the line edited
out. "It caught the ear of white America," said Jadakiss. "It's a good thing.
No matter what you do, somebody's not going to like it, but for the most
part, most people love the song."
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