Germany has scrapped a prestigious music prize after an uproar over a rap duo who won for an album allegedly featuring antisemitic lyrics.

Rappers Kollegah and Farid Bang won the hip hop/urban prize for their album Jung, Brutal, Gutaussehend 3 (Young, Brutal, Good-Looking 3), which sold more than 200,000 copies, despite lyrics which referred to the Auschwitz Nazi death camp, which were considered offensive by several Jewish groups and other critics.

Both rappers have said they reject antisemitism, despite lyrics which reportedly say that their bodies are “more defined than Auschwitz prisoners”, and: “I’m doing another Holocaust, coming with a Molotov.”

However Kollegah, a Muslim convert, apologised for the lyrics, saying on the night of the awards that he did not want to engage in political debate. “We are here to party,” he said, according to the BBC.

In response to the prize, a growing number of artists – including the conductor Daniel Barenboim – began handing back their prizes in protest.

Rock singer Marius Müller-Westernhagen also said he was handing back the seven Echos he has won since the 1990s. Other artists returning their awards include the pianist Igor Levit, and renowned musician and producer Klaus Voormann, who designed the cover for Beatles album Revolver.

Protests against Labour antisemitism Show all 14 1 /14 Protests against Labour antisemitism Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters clashed during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of the Jewish community hold a protest against Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn and antisemitism in the Labour Party AFP/Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Protesters hold placards and flags during a demonstration, organised by the British Board of Jewish Deputies for those who oppose antisemitism, in Parliament Square Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Hundreds of people gathered in Parliament Square to protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP Luciana Berger speaks during the protest PA Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester blows through a shofar during the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism Members of London's Jewish community protest in support of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn outside parliament EPA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour MP John Mann speaks during a protest against antisemitism PA Protests against Labour antisemitism People protest against antisemitism in the Labour Party as Jewish community leaders have launched a scathing attack on Jeremy Corbyn, claiming he has sided with antisemites ‘again and again’ PA Protests against Labour antisemitism Labour politicians Stella Creasy and Chuka Umunna leave after attending the demonstration Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A pro-Jeremy Corbyn protester holds a placard during a counter-protest Getty Protests against Labour antisemitism A support of the Labour Party hold up a placard during the demonstration Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism Jeremy Corbyn supporters during the demo Reuters Protests against Labour antisemitism A protester holds up a sign reading ‘For the many, not the Jew’ AFP

The BVMI [Federal Music Industry Association] has now said it does not want the Echo award “to be perceived as a platform for antisemitism, misogyny, homophobia, or belittling of violence”.

It added that while events at this year’s prize gala could not be undone, it wanted to ensure “such a mistake could not be repeated in the future”.

“The Echo brand is so badly damaged that a complete new beginning is necessary,” it said on 25 April.

The controversy around the prize, along with video footage showing an attack in Berlin on a young man wearing a skullcap or kippa by a Syrian asylum seeker, has sparked a wider public debate about rising antisemitism in Germany.