What on earth is going on with Britain, Canada and the United States? From Snoop Dogg and Busta Rhymes to Atmosphere, MIA, Hatebreed and even the tame Lily Allen, musicians are being denied entry for ridiculous reasons into countries that have already booked them.
The newest victim of this lame attempt to secure homelands, whatever that means, is Busta Rhymes who was arrested on Thursday and detained for 11 hours in a 7x8-foot holding facility under the watchful eye of five police officers, for the mere act of trying to play a charity gig on Friday at London's Royal Albert Hall. Free tickets had been awarded to those who volunteered four hours of their time to charity.
A UK judge explained that Busta's detention was probably unlawful and demanded that he be released to play the show. Busta Rhymes had a valid permit to play the show, making his detention even more puzzling.
Of the countries mentioned above, the UK has been the most enthusiastic practitioner of this paranoid pastime. It is still trying to ban Snoop Dogg from setting foot within its borders and has denied entry to footballers, artists and even Zimbabwean gospel divas. Jah Cure couldn't get in because he had served a year in prison. Are you kidding me?
But the UK isn't the only country with its eyes on the wrong balls.
Canada's getting it wrong too. Indie hip-hop outfit Atmosphere got bounced from its verdant shores, as did mainstream rappers Bone-Thugs-N-Harmony and metalheads Hatebreed.
Meanwhile, the United States has made a cottage industry out of manufacturing reasons why everyone from MIA, Boy George, The Klaxons, New Model Army, Lily Allen and many others shouldn't be allowed into the country.
this audio or video is no longer availableIn the interim, wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have cost lives on both sides of the divide, the global economy has cratered, terrorism marches unhindered and, for some godless reason, people are still watching MTV.
In other words, these countries and their backwards policies are not only failing to solve their citizens' real problems, but they're causing further logistical headaches and negative headlines with this preposterous practice.
So, who's next? Who's getting banned next week? And for what? Rabies? Malfunctioning hearing aids? The possibilities are endless and increasingly hypocritical.
Photo: AP/Chris Pizzello
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