- Music
- 27 Mar 07
Despite being denied a visa to enter the UK this week, Snoop Dogg has promised he’ll be in Dublin on March 31 and April 1 to perform in The Point alongside P. Diddy.
Snoop professes to being “mystified” by the ban, which stems from a fracas last year at London’s Heathrow Airport.
“My security team got a bit rambunctious,” he admits, “but we presented ourselves to the police and they said we had no charges to answer from the incident. I ‘m still hoping that the Home Office will reconsider as we’ve been in Europe for the past week and have played to over 100,000 people without incident.
“If I ‘m barred from the UK then we’re heading straight to Dublin which is the climax of the Heavyweights of Hip- Hop tour. Me and my nephew P. Diddy have been rehearsing the Irish-American rap anthem, ‘Jump Around’.”
Praising Snoop’s loyalty to his Irish fans, MCD promoter Noel McHale says: “He has 14 trucks, 16 busses and an entourage of over 150 people on his payroll for this tour and he’s happy to cover the cost of all these people and equipment sitting around for a week so that the Dublin shows can go ?ahead. Respect to the Big Man. Given the size of his production and entourage, the UK shows are an important part of this tour. If he can't work there it means that the shows in The Point next weekend will probably be the last time we will ever see Snoop Dogg live in Europe."
Despite being arrested three times in 2006 for a variety of offences including alleged drug and gun possession, Snoop is adamant that he has only peace and love in his heart.
“All I can do is politely ask the Home Office to reconsider this. I can reach the kids with my mic that politicians cannot with their voices,” he insists. “I can tell them to stop the violence and killings that have been happening in the UK."