SLY REPLY: Hold on a minute. Is...

SLY REPLY: Hold on a minute. Is it possible that Madonna’s “Justify My Love,” which has already been banned by MTV and whose CD “Beast” mix was accused of being anti-Semitic by self-styled rock watchdog Rabbi Abraham Cooper, is involved in another controversy? Well, almost . But the provocative pop sex-fantasy has inspired a mischievous answer song from the Young Black Teenagers, a rap group distributed by MCA through SOUL Records. (The group is, among other things, all-white). The band’s upcoming self-titled album features “To My Donna,” a male sex fantasy directed at Madonna which features such lyrics as:

Justify love or justify lust, anyway you want it.

The answer song also settles an old score. Madonna’s “Justify My Love” is credited to Lenny Kravitz (with additional lyrics by Ms. M). But it turns out that the rhythm track is from “Security of the First World,” a Public Enemy instrumental. Since Public Enemy samples just as many tracks as anyone else, no one’s going to court. But “My Donna” is clearly meant as a friendly jab, especially since Hank Shocklee, who produced “My Donna” (and runs SOUL Records) also produced the Public Enemy track.