Brand Republic
http://www.brandrepublic.com/mediabulletin/news_story.cfm?articleID=207075&Origin=MB05042004
BBC under fire for song comparing Queen with Saddam
Staff, Brand Republic
05-04-2004
LONDON - The BBC is under fire today for airing a rap song written by an Islamic convert that compares Queen Elizabeth II with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and calls the US the 'Devil'.
The song, which has been played on DJ Zane Lowe's Radio 1 'Evening Session' and also accuses the Royal Family of murdering Princess Diana, is called 'Great Britain' and is written and performed by rapper Scor-Zay-Zee.
The song hits out at British way of life and says that British youth are being "brainwashed and put in a daze" by consumer culture.
"Slavery made the riches of Great Britain, the queen wears stolen diamonds, her husband's a Freemason, they killed Lady Di. The Queen lives in an house like Saddam Hussein. They're both rich so I guess they are one and the same," a verse from the song says.
Rightwing watchdog Mediawatch UK has called for the BBC to ban the song and take it off the air. Mediawatch UK says there is no good reason for the corporation to be playing the song.
John Beyer, the director of Mediawatch UK, told the Sunday Telegraph: "The BBC should not be playing this song. There is no justification for giving airspace to something as offensive as this."
The four-minute song also attacks Britain's support for Israel and calls the US "the Devil."
"It is a protest song and has been selected entirely on the basis of musical merit," a spokeswoman for rapper Scor-Zay-Zee said.
The BBC has said that the track is not a Radio 1 playlist track but it has also refused to take it off air, saying that the song has not broken its producer guidelines.
"The track is not part of the R1 playlist but has been spot played on the Zane Lowe show on Radio 1 at 10pm. The track has provoked strong opinions but no complaints and the lyrics represent the personal views of a particular artist, not those of the BBC," a spokesman for the BBC said.
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Further Reading:
UK Freemasonry in the News, have the 'Brethren' finally met their Waterloo?
