HIP HOP FREEDOM HATER
Sheriff Bill Young uses public sentiment
to attack rap and the free market
BY DAVID QUINONES

The law of reciprocity states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It does not, however, presume that the reaction will be reasonable, rational or not borne of prejudicial sentiment. For example, posted on the Hard Rock Hotel's website was this apology: "Urban Fuel regretfully announces that 'Nasty Habits 3' scheduled for Feb. 16 from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. at the Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino has been cancelled, due to circumstances beyond our control. All previously purchased tickets will be fully refunded. Please contact your place of purchase for refund process. Refund includes ticket price and service charges. The Nasty Habits event will not be rescheduled. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

It happens, right? Shows get cancelled, venues lose interest, ticket sales wane, artists fall out of popularity, and the world keeps turning. No big deal. But there is more to this cancellation date than meets the eye.

Nasty Habits is a hip-hop concert series that promotes better living through non-smoking. An admirable cause, I suppose. So why the late drop? Because of police and their ability to protect and serve against free speech. 

On Feb. 1, aspiring local rap artist Amir "Trajik" Crump fired upon officers who were responding to numerous 9-1-1 calls placed by neighbors and Crump's girlfriend. This violent day ended with two men, Crump and Sgt. Henry Prendes, dead and another officer injured. It also produced a shocked community as well as two opposed and reactionary groups of people.

In the days following the shooting, amid the fervor of the story, and using Crump's career choice as a talking point, Sheriff Bill Young released numerous statements aimed at the ears of concert venue owners wherein he expounded upon the downside of Las Vegas booking what he termed to be "Gangster Rap" acts. He decried such acts as 50 Cent, Snoop Dogg and Nelly for violent imagery that breeds the kind of atmosphere which led to the death of Prendes.

Said the sheriff, "50 Cent is 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."

50 Cent is not the problem. The problem is how subtle and subversive a move this is. It is cold and calculated, well-timed and well-played by the sheriff. Young's name has not been mentioned in association with the cancellation of the Nasty Habits concert, and neither he, nor his like-minded compadres such as resort-mogul Steve Wynn will have to answer for their end-run around the First Amendment. If you think this is not a serious issue, you may want to reconsider.

In human history, people bound by oppression have invariably taken it upon themselves to rise, fight and regain their liberties. But what happens when the shackles are so innocuous and so deeply imbedded in the subtext of stories in our alternative weeklies and obscure websites that we don't even realize our liberties are being infringed upon? How do we stop someone who uses public sentiment on a hot-button issue to further a personal agenda of intolerance? 

We can all agree that what Crump did was wrong. He ruined the lives of many people, especially the slain officer's family and his own. No one will defend the actions, but the public needs to its right to be exposed to whatever entertainment we are prepared to create a market for, without fear of reprisal or censorship under the guise of "crime prevention strategies." LW