Florida Sheriff Urges College to Cancel Kendrick Lamar & Ludacris Concert

By: Amanda Anderson-Niles

Although Hip Hop is definitely a form of music that manages to bring people of different backgrounds and races together at concerts of some of the biggest names in rap, there’s still an ongoing debate taking place over the usage of the N-word in the popular music genre. And it would be the recent incident involving Paula Deen’s admission of using the N-word years ago that has people questioning if it’s a double standard which permits rappers to use the word, while outsiders and those who are not in the African-American community cannot. Interestingly enough, this debate is now leaking into the planned concerts at colleges and universities who are being scrutinized for inviting Hip Hop stars to the campus to perform at concerts for interested students.

Rappers Kendrick Lamar and Ludacris were both invited to perform at Florida Gulf Coast University at the Eaglepalooza concert in November. Apparently a Florida Sheriff got wind that the two rappers were scheduled to perform at the university and he immediately emailed the president of the school to make his anger known. Sheriff Mike Scott writes in his email:

“I agree that the N-word is perhaps, if not absolutely, the most corrosive, divisive, hurtful, painful word that anybody can use in our vocabulary. So I remain confused why an institution of higher learning would invite a group … that every other word out of their mouth is the N-word, the M-Fer, this ho and that ho, this b*tch and that b*tch, violence and references to illegal drugs.”

The Lee County Sheriff then goes on to say he finds it hypocritical that rappers can use the word so frequently when Paula Deen was slammed for using it 30 years ago:

“As a parent of an FGCU graduate and a current, FGCU Senior; I am very disappointed that “Dunk City” will apparently lower its standard in welcoming such vile communication not even fit for “Sin City.” As a concerned American, I remain confused as to the double standards and hypocrisies that events like this demonstrate at a time when Paula Dean became a negative, national headline for using the “n-word” some thirty (30) years ago.”

The president of the university Wilson Bradshaw, who is a black man, responded to the sheriff’s email and said he feels the musical taste of the students don’t represent him and his only job is to make sure the concert will be a safe one:

“As a university president — black or white — periodically there are expressed views related to students and faculty that the president doesn’t personally or professionally sanction or share. In this case, our students indicated a strong interest in inviting these performers to Eaglepalooza, and our staff assures me they are doing everything possible to ensure a safe and enjoyable event for the attendees.”

The sheriff of course isn’t happy that the concert will go on and despite numerous students disagreeing with his concerns, he claims he’s just worried about the safety of the students because he feels rap music encourages violence. Neither Kendrick Lamar or Ludacris’ reps have commented on the Sheriff’s complaints.