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Friday, August 21, 2009

Albany, GA City Officials Protest Gucci Mane Show


This is crazy, considering he's from Atlanta and is always welcomed with open arms, this makes no sense.

AllHipHop.com reports:

Gucci Mane is scheduled to perform August 29 at the Albany Civic Center. Despite fans’ anticipation for the show, city commissioner Bob Langstaff is less than thrilled with having the rapper take the stage at the venue.

"I'm appalled...what do you need from me to keep this "entertainer" from performing at Albany's Civic Center?" the commissioner wrote in an e-mail to Albany City Manager Alfred Lott and Civic Center Director John Mazzola while referencing Gucci Mane lyrics he found online. "This is not appropriate for our civic center."

Langstaff’s disapproval was countered by the concert’s promoter, Gilbert Udoto, who was taken aback by opposition to an event designed to bring attention to the civic center as well as eager ticket buyers.

According to the Odyssey Records owner, city officials came to him with hopes of bringing a big show to Albany.

"It's big. We haven't had an artist of this magnitude in a long time," Udoto told WALB News. "They talk about the Civic Center. You know we have not brought any acts here. Now we have an act that can sell tickets and now this is what we get.”

The upcoming Gucci Mane concert comes amid a wave of professional highs for Gucci Mane, who is gearing up for the release of the follow-up to his 2007 album, Back to the Trap House, this year.

In addition to his success as a solo artist, the rapper has appeared on remixes for the Black Eyed Peas (“Boom Boom Pow”) and Mariah Carey (“Obsessed”) as well as “Break Up,” the hit single from R&B crooner Mario.

Although he is aware that Gucci Mane’s lyrics can be offensive to some, Udoto was adamant that the rapper’s music is an exercise in free speech.