50 Cent may be barred entry into Canada, where officials are expressing concern over his criminal record and violent incidents involving the rapper.
Canadian Junior Foreign Minister Dan McTeague has asked Immigration Minister Joe Volpe to deny 50 Cent permission to enter the country for his Canadian Tour, which is slated to start in Vancouver on December 3rd.
Because of 50 Cent’s previous criminal record, he requires a special ministerial permission to enter Canada.
McTeague noted a surge of violence that his gripped Toronto and singled out a shooting after 50 Cent performed in the city in 2003.
In that incident, a 24-year-old man was shot several times at close range by two unidentified assailants as they left the Roc The Mic concert at Toronto's Molson Amphitheater.
The shooting took place as fireworks were going off in celebration of Canada Day. The gunmen were able to escape by blending in with the crowd in the Molson Amphitheater parking lot.
"This is not a question of censorship. This is a question of trying to protect impressionable young men," McTeague told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "There are indeed limits and restrictions on freedom of expression, particularly if they incite hate or if they are the kind of activity that is killing our young youths right across Toronto."
50 Cent is not the first rapper to face scrutiny from Canada. In 2000, the country almost barred Eminem from entering, claiming his lyrics encouraged violence against women.
In 2003 DMX was denied entry due to his criminal record and detained briefly, forcing him to cancel two concerts.
Recently, Jim Jones’ video to the song “Baby Girl” was banned from airwaves over “Stop Snitching” T-Shirts worn in the video.
Canadian Junior Foreign Minister Dan McTeague has asked Immigration Minister Joe Volpe to deny 50 Cent permission to enter the country for his Canadian Tour, which is slated to start in Vancouver on December 3rd.
Because of 50 Cent’s previous criminal record, he requires a special ministerial permission to enter Canada.
McTeague noted a surge of violence that his gripped Toronto and singled out a shooting after 50 Cent performed in the city in 2003.
In that incident, a 24-year-old man was shot several times at close range by two unidentified assailants as they left the Roc The Mic concert at Toronto's Molson Amphitheater.
The shooting took place as fireworks were going off in celebration of Canada Day. The gunmen were able to escape by blending in with the crowd in the Molson Amphitheater parking lot.
"This is not a question of censorship. This is a question of trying to protect impressionable young men," McTeague told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. "There are indeed limits and restrictions on freedom of expression, particularly if they incite hate or if they are the kind of activity that is killing our young youths right across Toronto."
50 Cent is not the first rapper to face scrutiny from Canada. In 2000, the country almost barred Eminem from entering, claiming his lyrics encouraged violence against women.
In 2003 DMX was denied entry due to his criminal record and detained briefly, forcing him to cancel two concerts.
Recently, Jim Jones’ video to the song “Baby Girl” was banned from airwaves over “Stop Snitching” T-Shirts worn in the video.
