After Rev. Al Sharpton cancelled plans yesterday to honor Island Def Jam CEO Antonio "L.A." Reid at a charity dinner because he feels the label releases offensive Rap music, Universal Music Group allegedly asked that its $15,000 donation to Sharpton's event be returned. The New York Post reported yesterday that Sharpton "suspended" the planned James Brown award for Reid because he handles a stable of foul-mouthed singers, and Sharpton believed the recognition would have been inappropriate and hypocritical in the wake of his criticism of the racially insensitive comments made by Don Imus. The Post says that associates of Reid then contacted Sharpton's organization, the National Action Network, to have their contribution returned, as Universal is the parent company to Island Def Jam. However, a Universal spokesman denied that the company asked for its money back and said there are no hard feelings over Sharpton's withdrawing the award.  

Meanwhile, Def Jam founder Russell Simmons didn't buy an anticipated two tables to the National Action Network dinner, also supposedly in protest.

"Oh, you only bought tickets if he would agree with us on lyrics?" Sharpton commented, according to the Post. "You weren't supporting the civil-rights cause, you weren't supporting the fight against police brutality? I've been against the lyrics all along." Simmons, however, denied that he didn't buy the tables and said he still planned to pay for them.

The debate continues over whether some of the lyrics in Hip-Hop music promote the kind of offensive and degrading attitude that was displayed by Imus. Sharpton has called for record labels and radio stations to crack down on negative lyrics, while Simmons and others have disagreed that there is definitely a correlation.

Simmons and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network recently released a statement saying, "Hip-Hop is a worldwide cultural phenomena that transcends race and doesn't engage in racial slurs. Don Imus' racially motivated diatribe toward the Rutgers women's basketball team was in no way connected to Hip-Hop culture... We are concerned by the false comparisons some in the media are making between Don Imus and Hip-Hop." 

Yesterday, the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network held a private meeting with more than 20 record executives at the New York home of Warner Music head Lyor Cohen, in order to discuss such issues. Afterward, they were going to hold a news conference at a Manhattan hotel to explain "initiatives agreed upon at the meeting," but the news conference was postponed because the meeting was still going on. Simmons' publicist released a short statement that described the topic as a "complex issue that involves gender, race, culture and artistic expression. Everyone assembled today takes this issue very seriously."