Sheriff wants rap out of Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Las Vegas Sheriff Bill Young has asked Sin City's casinos to quit booking gangster rappers, including top acts such as Snoop Dogg and 50 Cent.

An editorial Young wrote for the Las Vegas Sun taking the entertainment industry to task for glorifying violence and violent acts has apparently hit home with state gaming regulators, AllHipHop.com reported Wednesday.

Gaming regulators issued a warning this week that casinos would be held accountable for violence during rap performances.

"The entertainment industry should be ashamed of itself for promoting this gangster rap genre that espouses violence, mistreatment of women, hatred for the authority of police officers and emulates drug dealers and two-bit thugs," Young said in the Sun. "It's not a good message for our young people, and it's not a good message for our community."

Young singled out 50 Cent as "one of the worst" purveyors of violent messages, calling him "a mentor for all of the other gangster rappers in the making."

Young made his comments in the wake of the shooting death of Sgt. Henry Prendes, who was killed by rapper Trajik of the Las Vegas gangster rap duo, Desert Mobb, on Feb. 1. Trajik was also killed when he fired an assault rifle at officers responding to a domestic call along the Las Vegas Strip.