Las Vegas Might Ban Rap Shows

I've known about this for about a year now, but it might actually happen. They're trying to ban "gangsta rap". But lot's of rappers will be confused into the "gangsta rap" category so the clubs won't even touch a rap show if this happens.

Here's the article:





February 09, 2006

Editorial: Jeff German on Sheriff Young's call to casinos and nightclubs to ban gangster rap shows which, he says, breed an atmosphere of violence
Sheriff Bill Young is turning up the heat on gangster rap acts in Las Vegas.

Days after one of his veteran officers, Sgt. Henry Prendes, was gunned down by a budding rapper, Young said that he doesn't believe casinos should be booking these kinds of groups because of the violence they breed.

Young's message persuaded state gaming regulators this week to formally warn casinos that they will be held accountable if acts of violence occur at any gangster rap performances.

"The entertainment industry," the sheriff said, "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.

"It's not a good message for our young people, and it's not a good message for our community."

That applies, Young said, across the entire spectrum of rap music, including mainstream performers such as 50 Cent and Snoop Dogg.

"50 Cent is one of the worst," Young said. "His whole act is predicated on violence. He's a mentor for all of the other gangster rappers in the making."

Las Vegas has been the site of several rapper killings over the last decade, starting with the unsolved shooting death of Tupac Shakur in 1996. In the past five years, 80 to 100 recording studios specializing in gangster rap music have sprung up here, police said.

Young began voicing concerns within law enforcement circles about the violence associated with gangster rappers last year following the slaying in Las Vegas of Kansas City rapper Anthony "Fat Tone" Watkins and a friend of his.

A week after the May 23 killings, a local rapper, Roosevelt "Mr. Looks" Hines, was shot to death outside a recording studio.

In a June 22 letter to Keith Copher, then chief of enforcement for the Gaming Control Board, Young said he felt it was time to encourage the casino industry to shy away from bringing in gangster rap acts.

He described the effort as a "legitimate crime prevention strategy" that could curtail a growing list of violent acts related to these groups.

"A shooting at a venue that generates a lot of negative press towards our tourism corridor would seem not worth having these acts here," Young told Copher.

Young provided Copher with a secret intelligence bulletin on rapper-related violence across the country that his Gang Crimes Bureau put together. The report included incidents at casino nightclubs in Las Vegas since 2003.

"It hasn't been a widespread problem in the casinos, but it has been enough to concern us," said Capt. Al Salinas, who runs the Gang Crimes Bureau. "We want to create an environment where tourists can enjoy themselves and not have to be afraid."

Salinas said officers were called to a disturbance at the Palms in June 2003 during a concert by rapper Jay-Z.

In 2004, he said, officers had to respond to a series of altercations at the OPM nightclub at the Forum Shops at Caesars involving performances by gangster rappers.

And last May, police investigated a couple of shootings following a Nelly concer at the Aladdin, Salinas said.

The Control Board, meanwhile, used Young's 2005 letter to launch its own inquiry into reports that it had been receiving of violence, drug use and excessive drinking at nightclubs, some of which are owned and operated independently of the casinos.

This week, after months of meeting individually with executives at 24 dance clubs and ultra-lounges at 15 different casinos, the three-member board sent out a memorandum putting the entire industry on notice to clean up its act.

In the memorandum, the board made reference to Young's worries about the "booking of certain types of entertainment into licensed properties."

"Specifically, there have been numerous incidents of violence before, during and after several gangster rap concerts, not just in Las Vegas, but nationally, as well," the memo said.

"The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department considers these events as serious threats to the community."

The memo informed the casinos and the clubs that they need to exercise "due diligence" when bringing in entertainment.

The board, the memo said, will "hold the licensee accountable for incidents occurring as a result of entertainment the licensee knew or should have known would likely cause such incidents."

Jerry Markling, the board's new chief of enforcement, who oversaw the inquiry, described it as a "proactive" effort.

"Our main concern is for the safety of the patrons in the casinos and the clubs," he said. "We want to make sure the casinos are taking the appropriate action."

Hard Rock Hotel President Kevin Kelley - who occasionally has brought in well-known rappers, such as Snoop Dogg, for private parties - said he understands why the Control Board put out the memo.

"The board has a right to be concerned," he said. "It wants to make sure that when patrons come to a licensed establishment there is a certain level of safety and security. That makes sense.

"But my biggest concern is how far will the board take it? I don't think the board should be the moral arbiter and the entertainment director of the gaming industry. It needs to leave that onus on the casinos."

Palms owner George Maloof, who also has booked Snoop Dogg and lesser-known rappers periodically at his casino, said he has been proactive when it comes to security at his clubs, to the point of hiring off-duty Metro Police officers as bouncers.

"If the board is concerned about this, then we're concerned about it," Maloof said.

So far, however, the board's edict isn't going over well with some associated with rap music.

"It's ridiculous," said Morey Alexander, a longtime music promoter and record executive who specializes in rap music these days. "They're artists. They should have the right to play here."

Alexander, who moved his business, Kent Entertainment Group, here from Los Angeles a year ago, acknowledges that there are "thugs" among gangster rappers.

"But there are thugs in every business," he added. "There are thugs in government."

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

Mike Pizzo, who runs HipHopSite, a local business that sells rap CDs and paraphernalia at 4700 S. Maryland Parkway, said he has not noticed a big problem with gangster rappers here.

"I don't think they need to stick a task force on it," he said. "Any artist who's going to bring a bunch of troublemakers is not going to be booked at a casino. Financially, it's not worth it to the casinos."

Pizzo said gangster rap is not as popular on the street as it used to be and that some of its biggest stars have turned into pop icons.

"People are getting bored with it," Pizzo said. "Anybody can do it. There are far more interesting artists out there like Kanye West, who are positive and more musically talented."

But that's of little consolation to Young, whose department is still mourning the loss of one of its finest at the hands of a rapper.

"Some might view these gangster rap artists as entertainers disguised as criminals," Young said. "But I see them as criminals disguised as entertainers."

Jeff German's column appears Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday in the Sun. Reach him at 259-4067 or [email protected].