A possible ban on gangsta rap music could be on the horizon pending the outcome of a police investigation of a New Year’s Day brawl in Reading, England.
According to the Reading Evening Post, authorities are looking into whether gangsta rap played a role in a fight that took place at 2:30 a.m. at Café du Sport.
A 24-year-old man was gouged in the head with a broken bottle as the ruckus moved from inside the club to outside the venue at St. Mary’s Butts.
Officers, who tried to control the assault by using spray, were also attacked.
An 18-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm following the brawl. He is currently released on bail until Feb. 1.
The cause of the incident, which involved 20 people, will be looked into next week when town centre inspector John Relph meets with the manager of Café du Sport.
If the music played at the club that night attracted a “hardcore minority of thugs”, Relph will consider a ban on that music.
“If the general consensus throughout all town centre bars and clubs is that the heavier side of R’n’B, Hip-Hop and gangsta rap music attracts violence, Thames Valley Police will look into banning it,” the inspector told the Evening Post. “The matter will first be discussed in depth with PubWatch, which overlooks clubs and bars in Reading.”
Despite Relph’s claims, Colin Charles, the promoter of the Café du Sport event, said the music played that night should not take the blame for violent behavior.
“This type of R’n’B is played in bars across Reading all the time and has nothing to do with gangsta rap music,” he told the paper. “I have never experienced violence like this at one of my events before. The police are out of touch if they think old skool R’n’B and funky house from the 90s will make people violent. If anything should be banned from the town centre, it should be under 21-year-olds, trainers and sportswear – then you’ll see a massive reduction in trouble.”