The fallout over a music video depicting the stalking and killing of women is taking a toll on New Zealand rapper Derty Sesh, his record label says.
The video, for Derty Sesh's second single, 'Forever', was pulled from YouTube by Move The Crowd Records this week, at the same time the censor's office began a classification process for the video.
Two versions of the video were made, with the extended online version showing the rapper, comedian Mike King's son Nathan King, crouching over a bound woman before stabbing her and cutting out her organs.
It also featured shots of mutilated women's bodies and the rapper stalking a couple in a park.
Anti-violence groups called last weekend for the taxpayer-funded video to be banned from television, with Rape Prevention Education director Kim McGregor describing it as depicting "extreme misogyny".
Chief censor Bill Hastings told NZPA the Department of Internal Affairs had submitted the video to the Office of Film and Literature Classification.
Nathan King did not respond to messages left at his record label.
Move The Crowd boss Kirk Harding today said King was "exhausted from the whole ordeal".
The outcry over the video was "affecting his music and his writing", Mr Harding said.
Move The Crowd would not comment further at the present time, he said.
"We've got a lot of work to do this year so we just want to concentrate on the positive things."
The Move the Crowd blog, movingthecrowd.blogspot.com, had invited members of the public who did not like the online version to complain to YouTube to have it censored and made available to people over 18.
King told the Sunday News he had wanted the video to cause controversy.
"My whole thing is to push the limit...People in the hip-hop community [are saying] this is the best New Zealand hip-hop video to date."
Rapper Scribe said King had used the negative publicity to his advantage, but "I'm not a fan of his stuff".
He dismissed comparisons between King and American rapper Eminem, whose early records featured songs about violence and murder.
"The stuff that Eminem came out with was out of his own mind and it's kind of obvious that [King's] just kind of imitating what Eminem does," Scribe said.
"Those aren't his own thoughts, those aren't his actual original concepts or anything, it's all been done before so that's kind of why I'm not a fan - I'm into people just being themselves."
Asked if he was worried about repercussions from his comments, Scribe said: "I'd knock that guy out before he even came up my driveway, if it came down to that kind of thing."
NZPA