SHANGHAI,
China (AP) - China's Culture Ministry has nixed a
concert this month by rap artist Jay-Z at Shanghai's Hongkou
Stadium, citing a need to protect local hip-hop fans from
nasty lyrics, a report said Wednesday.
"Some of Jay-Z's
songs contain too much vulgar language," the state-run
Shanghai Daily newspaper quoted Sun Yun, of promoter KS Production
Co., as saying to explain the ministry's reason for refusing
permission for the Oct. 23 concert.
The concert
would have been the Chinese debut for the rap icon, whose
real name is Shawn Carter.
The
New York rapper's use of profanity and songs about drug
dealers, pimps and violence apparently offended the
culture czars, who have recently allowed other groups
with sexually suggestive songs, such as The Rolling
Stones and the Black Eyed Peas, to perform in Shanghai.
The cancellation could not be immediately confirmed,
but a notice posted Wednesday on an online ticket booking
Web site, Tickets365, said the concert had been postponed.
The
notice in red gave no reason, but said concertgoers
would be contacted as soon as a new date was set.
A
call to a representative for the rapper early Wednesday
went unanswered, as did calls to the news office of
China's Culture Ministry. The number for KS Production
was not available.
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