Much as I love Snoop as a rapper, from the interviews I’ve heard, seen, and read, I can’t say I expect I’d like him as a person. But that’s personal and this is anything but. Though I suspect it actually might be for whichever arse decided to bar the mighty Snoop from entry to the UK less than a fortnight before he’s due to play some shows with the only slightly less mighty P Diddy. How else would you figure it? I mean…as a country we’re apparently happy to let in mass murderers…

…and rapists…

…but not a fun loving stoner with a few hard mates and, maybe on occasion when provoked, a bit of a temper. What exactly has Snoop done that’s worse than mass murder? Or is it just they just don’t like the look of him? He’s an entertainer fer fucks sake. He got his work permit through six weeks ago! Don’t these departments ever speak to each other?

Snoop makes these points, and a few others, more politically in an eight minute monologue which surfaced on You Tube via MTV earlier today. Quite apart from the seriousness of the matter at hand, it’s great entertainment. He begs, he pleads, he rationalises, he reminisces on the good times he’s had in London. He gives a shout out to Wimbledon’s finest Slick Rick and, as a final flourish rolls out his shitty but charming attempt at an English accent.

For those of you too lazy to sit through the whole thing I’ve typed out my favourite bit, from somewhere in the middle. All great stuff, but I particularly like the last bit, when he says ‘let me in so I can do what I do’ and his face breaks into a smug grin (see above). Yeah, maybe he has a smidgen of evil in him. So what? There’s evidently plenty of good too.

“Hip hop has spread over the world to where it is an important factor in London, it’s an important factor in the whole UK. So it’s only relevant to let the king of hip hop, which is me, myself - not proclaimed by me but proclaimed by the people - to come over there and show some love and do it with my main man Puff to show you that we can work through differences. No-one knew that the east/west rivalry could come to a halt and someone as big as me and Puff could put together a tour that could go around the whole world with no incidents, no violence, all peace, all love. And it to be stopped short at the door of London, which is one of the homes of hip hop. Great rappers like Slick Rick came from London. We really appreciate the hip hop community in London, so that’s like a slap in the face if I don’t get to perform out there. My fans really want me to be there, I can’t really blame them, and I know they fighting to get me in there. It’s all the people that don’t understand me, that don’t know me.

I just think they need to talk to the kids and talk to the community and see exactly what they feel. Do they feel like Snoop should be banned? If they feel like that I’ll keep it moving. But if it’s other than that - like I know it is - let me in so I can do what I do.”

Posted on Thursday, March 29th, 2007by Ringo