Updated 12/14/08: Busta apologizes and removes the offending song.
Here's the latest example of self censorship out of fear of the Religion of Peace. The refrain of the song is "we gettin' Arab Money". Arab is pronounced "Ay-Rab" and part of the chorus is an Arabic-styled chant.
NAM explains,
For one, the catchy Arabic chorus, indecipherable to most rap fans reads “Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim, Alhumdulillahi Rabil A’lameen,” and actually means “Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, The beneficial, the merciful.”
That’s fine until you consider Busta is saying things like, “sick big dick, knockin cameltoe bitches.”
Not to mention strict Muslims consider music to be haram. Koranic verses in song have brought the wrath of Muslims before, and that's probably why Galaxy FM went into dhimmi mode.
But the song is really about Busta making money off of Arabs and enjoying the opulence of places like Dubai. Pretty tame stuff by rapper standards. Here's a link to the lyrics and click here to listen.
The
title of Busta Rhymes' single Arab Money has been branded racist and
the rapper is accused of mixing up elements of the Koran.
The song has barely been aired in the UK for fear of upsetting listeners.
And Galaxy confirmed "a number" of complaints were received when it was played in Birmingham and Yorkshire on Saturday night.
Busta Rhymes - real name Trevor Smith - insists he is "biggin' up" Arab culture.
But Galaxy's spokesman apologised for any offence caused by the track and said: "Both the DJ and producer have been suspended pending a full inquiry."
An inquisition over offending religion, where have we seen this before?