the authorities won't let Snoop Dogg play a festival in Holland

Snoop Dogg @ Brooklyn Bowl in April (more by Tim Griffin)

Having spent the better part of four years fighting for his right to travel to Britain, the hip-hop star Snoop Dogg now finds himself a rapper non grata in the Netherlands, where the authorities had him scratched from the lineup of a free concert planned for later this month, BBC News reported. Snoop Dogg was scheduled to perform at the Parkpop festival in The Hague on June 27, but the mayor and law enforcement officials there asked its organizers to find another artist to replace him to ensure the “open and friendly character” of the festival.

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In a statement the rapper’s management wrote: Snoop Dogg is astonished by the decision of the Mayor of The Hague, a town in the south of Holland, to not allow him to perform at the free festival, Parkpop. There’s been much speculation that, given the enormous response by Snoop’s fans to the free festival, the local authorities would not be able to provide sufficient security. Mojo, the largest concert promoter in Holland says, “We have never had any issues with Snoop, who has played magnificent shows at many of the festivals we promote such as Lowlands, North Sea Jazz and at several other promoted shows by Mojo.” Snoop is a mainstay at music festivals all over the world and has performed at all of these without incident.”[NY Times & response]

Drake has ruined it for the world! Just kidding. The Snoop Dogg story is most likely not connected to New York City’s concerns about security for free outdoor shows following Tuesday’s overfilled Drake concert (though the Jay-Z NYC incident may be).

Snoop Dogg is on the bill for Rock the Bells on Governors Island on August 28th, where he’ll perform Doggystyle in full. Tickets are still on sale.

Snoop videos are below…

Snoop Dogg “Oh Sookie” True Blood Music Video

Snoop Dogg – Gin & Juice (Uncensored)