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ShareWhat’s worse…? Using the law to tar every performer in a musical style or telling college kids to drop out to pay their un-necessary lawsuits? Take your pick- the Las Vegas police indulge in music profiling and the RIAA decides that no college education is more important than getting blackmailed by them.
The Las Vegas case involves the shooting of a police officer last year: Free speech concerns over police warnings to Vegas hip hop clubs. Even Ice-T (who plays one on TV now) could tell you that only a sociopath would condone shooting police and the local department has reason to be concerned about other recent shooting incidents noted in the article. But how about this:
“Clark County Sheriff Bill Young sent a letter to the Gaming Control Board to urge the gaming industry not to book “gangsta rap” acts in Las Vegas.”
Does this mean that “regular rap” acts are the only acceptable kind for Vegas? Also, how do they exactly classify “gangsta”? Do they have a chart or listing for this? Isn’t there a better way to deal with this problem than saying that one type of music should be outright banned from a major city? I’d hate to think that something like this would lead to more anger and mistrust towards police where this move would then backfire. Note to Vegas police: find a better, more thoughtful way to deal with this problem.
And now for our friends at the RIAA. You know, every time I think they’ve sunk to a new low, they always beat their personal best and sink even lower. In this case, it was a friendly message to one of hundreds of college students that they’re now suing, basically saying that if she has to chose between paying for college and paying for an RIAA lawsuit, she should chose the latter. Amazing, ain’t it? Wonder if that logic would work in reverse if/when the RIAA starts losing their lawsuits? Can we advise them to then get real jobs that aren’t disgraceful or a useless drain on society? We can only hope…
