Days after being denied
a visa to enter the United Kingdom, rapper Snoop Dogg is spreading a message of
unity and peace on the One Love Peace tour with fellow rapper Sean "Diddy"
Combs. Home
Office Minister John Reid banned the West Coast lyricist from performing in the
UK. Snoop
Dogg, who was slated to perform Tuesday (Mar. 27) at Wembley Arena, was also set
to play dates in Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow and Nottingham. According
to Celena Aponte of UK tour promoter The Outside Organisation Ltd, the One Love
Peace tour takes its name from the Bob Marley hit song that was performed at a
peace concert in Jamaica. Marley
used the event to unite opposing political parties and gangs in an effort to stop
political violence. As
a result, the One Love Peace outing "is specifically aimed at sending out
a message of nonviolence to kids." To
date, the tour has played to more than 100,000 throughout Europe without any incident
or arrest. Snoop
Dogg and Combs met with advisors after their show in Dusseldorf, Germany to devise strategies for combating recent violence in the
UK, in hopes of the rapper reaching an agreement to have the performance ban on
Snoop lifted. "A
decision was reached, they feel strongly that the uniting message of the One Love
Peace Tour will need to be shared with fans no matter what and discussions are
underway with production teams so that Snoop can still be involved in the show,"
tour representative Celena Aponte said in a statement. "Both Snoop and P.
Diddy were overwhelmed with messages of support from fans and superstar friends
yesterday and today." In
addition to making a donation from the tour to a stop the violence charity, Snoop
Dogg and Combs hope to utilize their celebrity connections to reach more people
on stage. Aponte
added that Snoop hopes the British government will reconsider their ruling and
added that "many routes are being explored to the Prime Minister to have
the decision reversed." Snoop
was banned from the UK in April. 2006, after his 30-plus entourage became involved
in a brawl in London’s Heathrow Airport, when they were denied entry into a first
class lounge area of the airport. Snoop
was issued a caution in relation to the incident and he was also permanently banned
from flying British Airways.
