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Reggae rap artist Beenie Man's forthcoming UK tour is thought to have been cancelled.

Reported by BBC Radio One, the reggae rap artist has pulled out of four of a planned five appearances.

The reasons for the cancellations are unclear, although gay rights activists have denied they are behind the decision.

In an official statement, OutRage! spokesman Ben Lock claimed he would have welcomed the dancehall star and wanted to build bridges with the reggae community.

He said: "We regret the cancellation of this tour.

"OutRage! and the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group were looking forward to meeting Beenie Man and building bridges with reggae artists.

"We want to work with them to explore ways that dancehall music can be a positive social force against prejudice and for the upliftment and liberation of the black nation - gay and straight."

Beenie Man was among other dancehall rap artists such as Sizzla, Vybz Kartel and Elephant Man targeted by OutRage! last year for allegedly employing homophobic lyrics.

However, both sides came to an agreement in January and pledged to work towards regulating the reggae industry to prevent the release of violent and anti-gay records.

On this, Lock added: "We intend to honour the agreement with the industry and we hope that reggae music fans understand that Beenie Man's concert cancellations were not called for by us, nor does it have anything to do with the lyrics inciting the murder of lesbian and gay people."

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