PLAN TO BAN SNOOP DOGG RASH

Rapper May Be Crude But He's A Publicity Guru

Police say it's about safety. Others say it's about
censorship.

Either way, it's the kind of publicity gangsta rapper Snoop Dogg
thrives on.

Hamilton's finest are doing their damnedest to keep the hip-hop mogul
from performing at Copps Coliseum next Tuesday. If they had their
druthers, the American artist wouldn't even make it over the border.

"As long as he's not breathing Canadian air, I don't care what Snoop
does," says Detective Sergeant Rick Wills, head of the vice and drugs
unit.

Police have asked the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration to
prohibit Snoop from entering the country on the basis of his criminal
record, which includes felony convictions for drug trafficking and
possession of weapons.

"This gentleman is someone we should not let into the country," says
Deputy Chief Tom Marlor. "This person has a very sordid profile" and
"a propensity for violence."

Police are concerned Snoop will attract concert-goers who use drugs,
carry weapons and have a bad attitude. It's not the Hamilton fans they
worry about so much as gang members from Buffalo and Windsor who might
trek here for the show.

Officers here have talked with police in some of the U.S. cities where
Snoop has toured recently, including Denver and Chicago. Knives and
guns have been ditched outside the venues once fans realize they'll be
searched. Assaults have taken place, cars have been reported stolen
and drug charges have been laid.

So far, only 2,500 tickets have been sold for the Copps show which was
expected to draw 10,000.

Marlor says he has a duty to be pro-active by doing what he can to
keep Snoop out of Hamilton. But he's also realistic. He knows his
chances of success are slim to none. Police have tried to stop
concerts in the past and it's never worked.

In the summer of 1975, then Chief Gordon Torrance tried to ban a Pink
Floyd concert at Ivor Wynne Stadium. He told The Spectator that "drug
takers" and bikers might show up and there could be "immoral acts" and
damage to property.

"If this was a case of selling tickets to the young people in our own
areas, I would have no qualms about it. But these tickets are being
sold over a wide area and it is my information that many of them will
be going to Americans. There is no way the police want to be kill-joys
in this affair, but we have to think of the safety of our citizens and
their property"

The concert took place as scheduled with 60,000 fans. Neighbours
complained about noise, litter, drinking, drug use and urinating in
public. There were no violent incidents.

In 1990, Hamilton police initially refused to provide security for a
Public Enemy concert. Deputy Chief George Frid said the rappers'
lyrics were "inflammatory toward authority" and he was concerned the
concert at Carmen's banquet hall would attract gang members from
Toronto, Buffalo and Detroit. The concert went ahead, with 20 police
officers present. The Spec reported the event was so quiet, many
officers spent much of the night relaxing with cups of coffee in a
side room.

It's unlikely Snoop will be stopped at the border. While some
convicted felons -- especially violent offenders -- are denied access
to Canada, Snoop can, and probably already has, been granted a
Minister's Permit allowing him into the country to perform.

Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration officials say they cannot
speak about Snoop's situation because of privacy laws. But promoter
Simon Garner of Next Presentations says Snoop's people have ensured
him the paperwork has been looked after and the rap star will indeed
be breathing Canadian air very soon. He is playing a concert in
Montreal the night before he comes to Hamilton and will shoot a video
in Vancouver the week after.

Snoop has been in Canada 35 times before, says Garner. He is not
staying overnight in Hamilton and will not likely party at any local
clubs, another issue police were concerned about.

Garner says he does not share the police department's concern about
violence at the Hamilton concert.

"This is not the United States," he says. "Life in Canada is
different. I don't see any reason why he shouldn't be allowed to
perform in Canada."

Deputy Chief Marlor is quick to point out that banning Snoop is an
issue of public safety, not censorship. But he later goes on to say
the performer's misogynist lyrics cause him concern. And Wills, from
vice and drugs, points out some of Snoop's lyrics are
anti-police.

So what gives? Is this about Snoop's criminal past, or is it about the
songs he sings?

Let me be honest -- I can't stand Snoop Dogg. I agree he's misogynist.
I also think he's crude and angry and his music sucks.

But, more importantly, I don't think it's the job of the police to
decide what music the public should hear and what concerts can come to
town. They may be the police, but they're not the thought police. It's
a slippery slope from banning Snoop to banning violent movies or
controversial books.

Every concert has security concerns. I'm not denying this one will
have its share. And I am well aware a 24-year-old former McMaster
University student was shot and killed after a hip hop concert at
Ontario Place last month. Though security precautions should and will
be taken at the Snoop concert, it's rash for police to be any more
heavy-handed than that when Snoop has been in Canada before without
trouble.

To be sure, Snoop is no angel. His real name is Calvin Broadus and he
grew up in Los Angeles where he was a member of the Crips gang. He's
been jailed, has been shot a bunch of times and was once charged with
murder, but the charge was eventually dropped. Recently, three of his
bodyguards were arrested after taking Snoop to an awards gala in
Hollywood. They were riding in a bullet-proof van equipped with gun
ports and loaded with firearms.

Even more recently, he was slapped with a lawsuit after he allegedly
baited a 17-year-old girl and her friend to flash their breasts for a
video shot in New Orleans during Mardi Gras last year. He allegedly
offered the girls pot and Ecstasy in exchange for the peek. Shots of
the bare-breasted girls standing beside Snoop appear on the cover of
his Girls Gone Wild Doggy Style video and DVD. They are suing him for
improperly using their images.

But Snoop is much more than a gangsta and a creep. He's also produced
his own porn, launched his own line of clothes, runs his own record
label, records his own weekly radio show that airs on 35 stations
around the world, has starred in his own TV show, appeared in a number
of successful Hollywood movies and, oh yeah, sold a lot of albums.

It's that last part that convinces John Elder, the guy responsible for
booking Snoop at Copps, that he has good reason to bring the celebrity
to Hamilton.

"I'm not in the censorship business," he says. "I'm a little surprised
at the reaction of the police. It isn't their role to decide who
should play here."

Plenty of artists -- including the recently lauded Rolling Stones --
have come to perform in Canada even though they have criminal records,
says Elder. Copps staff are working closely with police, the concert
promoter and with Snoop's people to ensure it will be a safe concert,
he says.

Inspector Bob Buck says there will be 35 to 40 uniformed officer
inside and outside the building as well as numerous undercover
officers. Schedules are being shuffled so no overtime will have to be
paid. As well, Copps is paying for six additional special duty police
officers to work the show. The same security firm that worked the
Rolling Stones' SARS concert will be there and immigration officials
will also be on hand.

In the end, all of this will likely amount to nothing more than free
publicity for Snoop.

Or as John Elder of Copps Coliseum told me yesterday: "I hope that
whatever you put in your column tomorrow, it will stimulate ticket
sales."