No more "Gangsta Rap" in Vegas??

[BETO916]

Las Vegas Sheriff Wants Casino Ban on 'Gangster Rap' Shows

Following the murder of a Las Vegas police officer, the city's sheriff has called for a ban on "gangster" rap artists.

In a recent Las Vegas Sun editorial, Sheriff Bill Young said he doesn't believe casinos should book certain types of rap groups because of the violence they breed.

"The entertainment industry should be ashamed of itself for promoting this gangster rap genre that espouses violence, mistreatment of women, hatred for the authority of police officers and emulates drug dealers and two-bit thugs," Young told the Sun. "It's not a good message for our young people, and it's not a good message for our community."

Young's request hit home with state gaming regulators, who warned this week that casinos will be held accountable if violent acts occur at any gangster rap performances.

The protest comes after the death of Sgt. Henry Prendes, a veteran officer who was gunned down by a budding Las Vegas rapper.

Young also stated that his comments are directed toward all rap artists, including mainstream emcees like Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent, whom he classified as "one of the worst. His whole act is predicated on violence. He's a mentor for all of the other gangster rappers in the making."

Despite Young's implications, some see otherwise.

"It's ridiculous," Morey Alexander, a longtime music promoter and record executive, told the Sun. "They're artists. They should have the right to play here."

Alexander played a role in launching the early careers of N.W.A., Kid Frost, Mellow Man Ace and others.

He recently signed rapper Canibus to a recording division of his Kent Entertainment Group.

Alexander relocated Kent Entertainment Group to Vegas a year ago. He admitted that there are "thugs" among gangster rappers as well as "thugs in every business. "There are thugs in government," he added.

Alexander further stated that there are far more good rappers than bad ones and that the best way to avoid violence is better police work and security screening at concerts.

Las Vegas has been the site of several rap-related murders over the last decade, including the unsolved shooting death of rap icon Tupac Shakur in 1996.

More recently, Kansas City rapper Anthony "Fat Tone" Watkins was slain in May 2005, and Vegas rapper Roosevelt "Mr. Looks" Hines was shot to death outside a recording studio a week later.



hmmmmmm....

"The entertainment industry should be ashamed of itself for promoting this gangster rap genre that espouses violence, mistreatment of women, hatred for the authority of police officers and emulates drug dealers and two-bit thugs," Young told the Sun. "It's not a good message for our young people, and it's not a good message for our community."

....says the Sheriff of a town that has legalized gambling, prostitution, and is known for having ties to organized crime.

hypocrisy (sp?) at it's finest.

 

[Twist3d]

thats one of the dumbest things i have ever heard....

 

[Mi$ta-Murda187]

that's some bullshit..
the police are just hating...

 

[AC Transit]

Jeff German talks with the owner of OPM, who says his club's hip-hop vibe is not the problem police make it out to be
One of the first things you see walking up the concrete staircase to the OPM nightclub is a life-size golden Buddha, a worldwide symbol of peace, lying on its side on a wooden table.

Presiding over the high-tech dance floor in this sprawling Asian-themed club, with its marble bars and colorful contemporary furniture, is another wooden Buddha, standing 6 feet tall and weighting 800 pounds.

OPM, which plays hip-hop music exclusively, sits above Wolfgang Puck's Chinois restaurant in the heart of the Forum Shops at Caesars and is considered one of the most popular late-night entertainment venues in Las Vegas.

But it also is among several nightclubs singled out in a 2005 confidential police bulletin on growing acts of violence associated with the radical end of hip-hop music, gangster rap.

The bulletin, prepared by Metro's Gang Crimes Bureau, was used by Sheriff Bill Young to persuade state gaming regulators to warn casinos and nightclubs that they will be held accountable for any violence tied to gangster-rap performances.

Young, as I reported last week, is on a push to discourage this kind of entertainment on the Strip.

OPM owner Michael Goodwin, who's been in the nightclub business for 17 years, says his club and its music are getting a "bad rap" here.

"My crowd base is upscale urban individuals who love to dance to hip-hop music," Goodwin says. "They are executives and businesspeople. We've had fights, but no more than any other club."

The 42-year-old Goodwin says he worries that Young and others are unfairly casting aspersions on hip-hop because of their concerns about gangster rappers, who encourage violence with their music.

"All of the clubs play a majority of hip-hop on any given night," Goodwin says. "The reason we all play it is because that is what the young patrons want to dance to. Hip-hop is the No. 1 selling music in this country, and it is extremely popular with all races and demographics."

Goodwin, who acknowledges that some gangster-rap songs are part of the music mix at OPM, says he goes to great lengths to make his club as safe as possible.

His words are backed up by the Metro Police intelligence bulletin, I'm told.

Although the confidential bulletin reportedly cites OPM for a series of disturbances there in 2004 (something Goodwin disputes), it also says management has been cooperating with police since then.

Security at OPM, Goodwin says, starts with a strict dress code that includes no tennis shoes, jerseys, baseball caps, overly baggy jeans or sweat suits. He says he recently turned away rapper Nelly and his huge entourage because they weren't dressed properly.

Goodwin says he also has promised police that he won't host any after-concert parties for gangster rappers.

And he insists that he always makes sure to have a large contingent of security officers on hand.

In the past year, he says, he also has paid Metro $60,000 in overtime wages to station uniformed officers outside the entrance to OPM.

"Most people at the clubs are having a great time celebrating something or letting loose from something," he says. "But once in a while, you have that 1 percent of your customer base that is a knucklehead.

"And I don't care if you're playing country-western music, if you're playing punk-rock music, if you're playing hip-hop music or if you're playing top 40 music, there's not one nightclub that isn't at risk for something like that occuring periodically."

Goodwin stresses that "safety should be the key" for every nightclub in town.

"Without safety, there will be no profitability," he says. "And without safety, there will be no sleep for me.

"None of us invested millions of dollars in our businesses to cater to punks."

 

[BETO916]

good add AC

 

[DASICCLV702]

THATS SOME BULLSHIT NO RAPPER PROVOKES ACTS OF VIOLENCE THEYRE JUST WORDS ITS NOT LIKE THEY DO SHIT BUT MOST DO I AINT LYIN BUT MUSIC KEEPS EM AWAY FROM THE VIOLENCE AND GANG BULLSHIT....WHO EVER DOES THE CRIME THATS THEIR PROBLEM NOT THE RAPPERS......SO FUCK!! METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE NORTHTOWN POLICE FOR THIS BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ColdBlooded]

violent music gets banned but nobody cares about violent movies.

violent movie gets "banned" or even an NC-17 the movie companies lose money.

violent music shows get banned the record companies make more money and the recording artists lose more.


see the difference?