Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Concert Lineup Angers Some Va. Tech Families


Rapper's Violent Lyrics Draw Protests
By Sandhya SomashekharWashington Post Staff WriterFriday, August 3, 2007


A free concert organized to lift the spirits of the shaken Virginia Tech community is instead angering some parents of the victims, who say the decision to feature a New York rapper known for his violent lyrics shows a blatant lack of respect for the people killed in the April 16 shooting rampage.
Vincent J. Bove, who said he is a spokesman for seven of the victims' families, said yesterday that the parents are outraged that the Sept. 6 concert at the university would include the rapper Nas, who in one 1999 track chants, "Shoot 'em up, just shoot 'em up, what?" followed by whispers of "Kill, kill, kill, murder, murder, murder."
The lyrics "are indicative of the moral decay in our society that contributes to acts of violence," said Bove, a New Jersey security expert who has volunteered to speak for the families. "For a university official to condone it or to be clueless of what this person's track record is, it's unconscionable beyond belief."
University officials, however, said they have received an overwhelmingly positive response since they announced the concert Wednesday and have no plans to revise the lineup.


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