Student Events rejected Jamaican dancehall artist Beenie Man as a possible opening act for the Talib Kweli concert after the organization learned this weekend that many of his songs contain anti-homosexual lyrics, according to Student Events officials."Once we found that out we said, 'No way, this is not what Brandeis is about, this is not what Student Events is about, this is not what this concert is about,'" Student Events Director of Major Entertainment Sharon Makowsky '06 said. "We had completely, absolutely no interest when we found that out."

One Student Events official told the Justice Thursday that Beenie Man had been chosen as one of the special guests for the Kweli fall concert. The official, who was being interviewed for a concert preview article, requested anonymity, saying the artist's appearance was not going to be announced until the concert's pre-sale party on Monday.

But Student Events Director Helen Pekker '06 said that while Beenie Man was an artist Student Events had considered to open the show, no contract was ever signed and Student Events never intended to announce more than one special guest at Monday's event.

"There was always going to be only one announcement tonight," Pekker told the Justice on Monday before the pre-sale.

However, the organization's publicity materials for the pre-sale, including a message sent to the all students e-mail list Thursday, said that more than one special guest would be announced Monday.

Student Events issued a written statement on Beenie Man Sunday night.

"Posters for the Pre-sale Party advertised the announcement of the Special Guests, of which there is more than one, and the Pre-sale Party will continue exactly as planned with the announcement of one Special Guest," the statement reads.

Asked about the discrepancies, both Pekker and Makowsky said the group stands by the statement released Sunday night.

In the same interview before the pre-sale, Makowsky said the organization was working to bring in another guest.

"We've had one secured and we're hoping to have another secured by tonight," she said. "If and when that happens, we will inform the campus."

Students Events announced one special guest for the fall concert Monday night at the pre-sale party. Mighty Purple, a Connecticut folk-rock band who performed in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium last winter, will open for Talib Kweli on Oct. 9.

Beenie Man, born Moses Davis in Kingston, Jamaica, rose to prominence within the nation's dancehall scene in the early 1990s before achieving recognition by British music fans and critics in 1996 with the single "Dance Hall Queen." By 2002, he had collaborated with popular American artists like Wyclef Jean, Janet Jackson, The Neptunes and Lil' Kim.

In the song "Damn," he sings, "I'm dreaming of a new Jamaica/come to execute the gays." Anti-gay lyrics are also present in several of his other songs.

Beenie Man was forced to cancel a planned tour of the U.K. last spring after the gay rights advocacy group Outrage! protested the homophobic content of several songs, according to VH-1. U.S. appearances, including one at the 2004 MTV Video Music awards, have been cancelled as well, according to Rolling Stone.

Makowsky said that when Beenie Man was originally suggested as a possible opening act by the group's agent, the artist's history of controversy was unknown to the both the agent and Student Events.

"It's just not right to have someone come to Brandeis with such a hatred," Pekker said. "We don't want someone like that on our campus."

-Jonathan Lowe and Jonathan Fischer contributed to this report