Reggae's new stars attack anti-gay lyrics

A new generation of reggae stars has denounced the antigay lyrics of artists banned from this year's Urban Music Awards.

Dance-hall act Savannah, who won best reggae artist, told the Standard: "We're keeping it clean - we don't want to hate anybody. We're the younger generation and we're trying to bring love where others did not.

"Reggae music is about love. We think everybody has the right to live their lives."

Beenie Man and Vybz Cartel were dropped from the list of nominees for best reggae act as a police investigation closed in on the Jamaican proponents of so-called " mu r d e r - mu s i c " , which incites hatred towards gay people.

The investigation was launched after the killing of 37-year-old gay barman David Morley on the South Bank.

Gay rights campaigners have warned of links between the popularity of dance-hall music and soaring numbers of "gay-bashing" inc idents in Britain. According to police figures, such assaults have risen by 10 per cent in the last year. Activists say pejorative-terms meaning homosexual-such as "chi chi man", have already made their way into school playgrounds.

Jordan Kensington, organiser of the awards, said the appearance of Beenie Man and Vybz Cartel on the list of nominees had been a mistake. "We are an awards ceremony supporting Unicef and we would be concerned at musical content to do with violence, racism or homophobia," he said.

However, others at the event called the ban an affront to free speech.

Inspectah Deck of platinumselling US rap act Wu-Tang Clan said: "I think people should be able to talk about whatever they want to talk about - whether it's gay people or straight people or McDonald's or whatever.

Music is a form of self-expression, which means people should be able to say what they want."

The awards ceremony at the Barbican last night was hosted by soul singer Beverly Knight and Gary Beadle, who plays Paul Truman in EastEnders.

Other winners included best Nu-Soul artist - Rhian Benson, best crossover artist - Lemar and best radio DJ - Ras Kwame of 1Xtra.