P.O. BOX 90598, MARKHAM EGLINTON POST OFFICE, TORONTO, ON M1J 3N7
EMAIL: VALSMITH@FRADICAL.COM WEB SITE: WWW.FRADICAL.COM
BY EMAIL AND MAIL
November 23, 2005
Councillor Joe Pantalone
Chairman, Board of Governors
Ms Dianne Yonge
Chief Executive Officer
Exhibition Place
Toronto, ON M6K 3C3
Mayor David Miller
Toronto City Hall
100 Queen Street West, 2nd floor
Toronto, ON M5H 2N2
Dear Councillor Pantalone, Ms Yonge and Mayor Miller:
Re:
Curtis Jackson (aka “50 Cent”) Toronto concert, December 20, 2005 at
Ricoh Coliseum, Exhibition Place
With regard to the above-noted concert of violent gangster rapper, Curtis Jackson, at Ricoh Coliseum, I
would like to bring the following to your attention. This performer:
•
•
•
promotes guns and gang violence in his music, web sites and video game
uses misogynist language in his lyrics and glamourizes pimping
attracts violent, armed people to his events
The following expands on these points.
Promotion of gun and gang violence
Curtis Jackson, a former big-time crack and heroin dealer, has been credited with putting the “thug” back
in rap music, as described in this item from the Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune:
… he [50 Cent] is leading a renewed demand for, or at least acceptance of, rappers armed with
a street-thug image and violent lyrics. Not since the 1996-97 murders of rappers Tupac Shakur
and the Notorious B.I.G. has mainstream hip-hop been so filled with guns, gang-style feuds and
songs about killing.1
His concert last year in Hamilton, Ontario, featured gunfire as part of the performance:
As the lights dimmed in Copps Coliseum, a black curtain dropped to reveal a huge G Unit “Beg
For Mercy” banner. The sound of a shotgun being cocked echoed through the arena as G Unit
members Lloyd Banks and Young Buck walked on stage. After greeting the crowd, a halfdozen gunshots erupted from the speakers as 50 Cent strutted out of the shadows…
(ChartAttack.com)2
Jackson also has an extremely violent video game called Bulletproof that was released on November 18.
I highly recommend that you visit his various web sites at www.50cent.com, www.50centbulletproof.com,
and www.getrichordietryinmovie.com to witness the glorification of guns and gangs that features
Page 2 of 5
November 23, 2005
prominently. Sample graphics from his various web sites, along with a trailer from Bulletproof, are also
posted on my web site, The Free Radical, at http://www.fradical.com/Articles on FiftyCent Canadian
tours.htm.
Ricoh Coliseum, where Jackson is scheduled to perform on
December 20, is owned by the City of Toronto. As a Toronto
taxpayer, I am appalled that this man, who promotes and
glorifies guns and gang violence, is being allowed to perform
at a facility supported by my tax dollars. Given the crisis of
violence facing this city, the number of lives lost to gangsters,
and the grief endured by surviving family members, I am
shocked at the irresponsible and callous attitude exhibited by
those who made the decision to allow this use of a public
facility. The word “hypocrisy” really does not do justice to the
situation.
The picture at the left is from Jackson’s web site and lists the
Canadian tour dates, along with two of his trademark guns.
He abandoned his life as a drug dealing gangster because
he was shot and nearly died, not, it would appear, because
he had an attack of social conscience, as he continues to
promote a violent, gangster lifestyle with his gun-laden,
bullet-riddled web sites, concerts and video game.
Exposure to violent media is harmful, especially to children
A recent Ipsos poll showed that 63% of the survey’s respondents believe the glamourization of gang
culture found in movies and rap music is contributing to the increase in Toronto’s gun violence.3 They’re
absolutely right in coming to that conclusion -- it’s the same one reached by the majority of medical and
mental health experts in North America, i.e., that exposure to violent media can have harmful effects. In
July 2000, a Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children was released by the
American Academy of Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Child &
Adolescent Psychiatry, American Medical Association, American Academy of Family Physicians and the
American Psychiatric Association. The statement said, in part:
At this time, well over 1,000 studies -- including reports from the Surgeon General's office, the
National Institute of Mental Health, and numerous studies conducted by leading figures within
our medical and public health organizations -- our own members -- point overwhelmingly to a
causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children. The
conclusion of the public health community, based on over 30 years of research, is that viewing
entertainment violence can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes, values and behavior,
particularly in children. Its effects are measurable and long-lasting.4
At Jackson’s concert at the Molson Amphitheatre, a Toronto Star reporter noted that children as young as
10 were in the audience.
In addition to the research findings, many black groups have condemned gangster rap because of the
negative stereotypes and harmful messages. In appearing before a U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing
on the Social Impact of Music Violence in 1997, C. Delores Tucker, Chair of the National Political
Congress of Black Women said:
Those malicious lyrics grossly malign black women, degrade the unthinking young black artists
who create it, pander pornography to our innocent young children, hold black people (especially
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November 23, 2005
young black males) universally up to ridicule and contempt, and corrupt its vast audience of
listeners, white and black, throughout the world. 5
Ms Tucker condemned the corporations that "promote and distribute music that teaches kids that it's cool
to kill, use drugs, gang rape girls and denigrate women in the most vulgar and violent ways". In
commenting on a rash of murders in Toronto three years ago, Dudley Laws of the Black Action Defence
Committee cited the negative influence of rap music that glamourizes a criminal lifestyle. "The music
culture is awful now," Mr. Laws said. "They have to regulate what young people are looking at."6 Director
Spike Lee is another vociferous critic of gangster rap, saying that it encourages black children to aspire to
be pimps and strippers. Writing in BlackAmericaWeb.com, Deborah Mathis called Jackson’s lyrics
“treason to his people”7 because of the violence they promote.
Protests in the U.S. against Jackson’s movie Get Rich or Die Tryin’ - filmed in Toronto
In late October, a coalition of Los Angeles community groups demanded that Paramount Studios take
down billboards promoting Jackson’s movie, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, scheduled to open on November 9.
Those involved in the protest included Project Islamic HOPE, The National Action Network, Justice for
Murdered Children, NAACP, Stop the Violence Increase the Peace, and Dr. Earl Ofari Hutchison, a
prominent community activist.
Najee Ali of Project Islamic HOPE said, “Gun violence is one of the leading causes of death for young
black males in South Central Los Angeles and across urban America. ...we demand that Paramount
Pictures remove these negative images of death and destruction, images that our young children are
influenced by.”8
Los Angeles County
Supervisor Mike Antonovich included this
comment in a letter to Paramount: “This
billboard conveys to the students a
disturbing message actively promoting gun
violence, criminal behaviour and gang
affiliation.” Royce Esters, president of the
National Association for Equal Justice in
America, condemned the billboard as
“glorifying a dope dealer and the gang
culture”. “They’re recruiting wannabe
gangbangers,” he said.9 Donald Bakeer,
Chairman of Project Islamic HOPE
summed up the situation this way: “That
slogan [Get Rich or Die Tryin’] is going to
echo across the country while 50 Cent
steps over dead bodies to get his
paycheck.”10
Protests in other cities followed, and New
York Councillor Letitia James pushed a
boycott of the movie.11 Get Rich was filmed
in Los Angeles and Toronto, two cities hit
hard by gang violence. At least the people of Los Angeles don’t have the added insult of being forced to
fund the movie with their tax dollars, which the taxpayers of Ontario probably did. That is, after all, why
American movie companies come to Hollywood North, the generous tax credits doled out by both the
federal and provincial government. And the movie company would have been given a permit from the
City of Toronto film office. Very responsible.
Graphic from Get Rich web site
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November 23, 2005
Use of gender-based abusive language and promotion of pimping
Jackson routinely uses the words “bitch” and “whore” to describe women in his lyrics (some examples are
enclosed). Because of that gender-based abusive language, he is one of the performers I cited in a
complaint filed recently with the Ontario Human Rights Commission against HMV Canada Inc. for their
sale of hate rap CDs. You can find more information on my web site at www.fradical.com in the News
Release and Music sections.
Please be advised, Mr. Pantalone, that should I learn that Curtis Jackson performed songs containing
gender-based verbal abuse at his Ricoh Coliseum concert on December 20, I will file a complaint against
you with the Ontario Human Rights Commission for permitting it. You are a politician and, as such, have
a responsibility to protect the public and ensure that the facilities over which you exercise control are not
used to promote discrimination against vulnerable groups, including women.
A performer who uses homophobic or anti-Semitic lyrics would not be permitted to use Ricoh Coliseum,
but Curtis Jackson, who is well-known for being verbally abusive to women, is being permitted to use the
building. That’s discriminatory treatment, and if I discover Jackson used his platform at Ricoh Coliseum
to spread contempt towards women with abusive and misogynist lyrics, I will pursue redress with the
Human Rights Commission.
This performer also glamourizes a pimp lifestyle in his lyrics and performances. In the United States,
social workers are crediting this promotion of pimping by rap stars with increasing the number of girls
turning to prostitution. That is a tragedy, and yet a pimp rapper is being permitted to use a publiclyfunded facility. That is a gross abuse of the public trust.
Potential for violence at the concert
Based on past history, violence could erupt at, or following, the Toronto concert. This puts people at the
concert and in the vicinity at risk of injury or death.
In July 2003, a man was shot dead as the crowd disbursed following Jackson’s concert at Molson
Amphitheatre in Toronto. Last year, a man was shot outside another of Jackson’s concerts in Montreal,
although he escaped serious injury because he was wearing a bullet proof vest.12
To a concert. Prior to Jackson’s Canadian tour last year, former police Chief Julian Fantino tried to
prevent him from entering Canada by writing to the federal immigration minister several times because he
said Jackson’s lyrics advocate raping women and murder.13 If the Immigration Minister had listened, that
person in Montreal would not have been shot.
When Jackson’s movie Get Rich or Die Tryin’ opened in Toronto on November 9, the Toronto Police
Service assigned undercover officers to some theatres because of the possibility of violence. In
Pittsburgh, a man was shot dead in the lobby of a theatre showing the movie, while in Syracuse, another
man was shot in the face during a fight between rival gang members outside the theatre where the film
premiered. An anti-gang task force in Flagstaff, Arizona, increased police presence at theatres there
because, Sgt. Shane McFarland of the Arizona Department of Public Safety said, movies like Get Rich
can inspire violence. Following the shootings, other police forces across the U.S. increased their
presence at theatres showing Get Rich.14 The possibility of violence at rap events in the United States
has even resulted in some events having difficulty getting insurance.
Given the history of violence at Jackson’s two other Canadian concerts, combined with the fact that
gangsters in this city spray bullets wildly around the streets whenever they feel like it -- shooting people
on buses, sitting in cars at stop lights, through the walls of their house, at funerals -- this is not a remote
possibility. Gang bangers in this city operate with a total, complete and absolute lack of concern for public
safety. That’s not exaggeration -- that’s fact.
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November 23, 2005
This letter is therefore sent as formal notice to you of the potential danger which you, as an operator of a
facility, are obliged to consider in determining the risk to which you expose attendees. Your lawyers will
confirm for you that disregard of advance notice of danger and risk is admissible in a future civil
proceeding as evidence of negligence and, indeed, gross negligence in assessing liability and extent of
damages.
As politicians, you owe a duty of care to the citizens of this city. If you permit this concert to proceed, at
the very least, you need to warn parents about the possibility of violence, so that they can make an
informed decision about whether to let their children attend Jackson’s concert this time around.
Sincerely,
Valerie Smith
cc:
Ward Earle, Solicitor, Exhibition Place
Toronto City Councillors
Premier Dalton McGuinty
The Hon. Michael Bryant, Attorney General
The Hon. Monte Kwinter, Minister of Community Safety and Correctional Services
John Tory, MPP, Robert Runciman, MPP
Gord Brown, MP, Dan McTeague, MP
Chief Bill Blair, Toronto Police Service
50 brings return of gangsta rap, Minneapolis St. Paul Star Tribune, July 25, 2003
50 Cent and G Unit go for broke in Hamilton, ChartAttack.com, April 23, 2004
3 Gun crime biggest fear, National Post, October 25, 2005
4Joint Statement on the Impact of Entertainment Violence on Children presented to the Congressional Public Health Summit by the American Academy of
Pediatrics, American Psychological Association, American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, American Medical Association, American Academy of
Family Physicians and the American Psychiatric Association, July 2000
5Testimony of Dr. C. Delores Tucker, National Chair, National Political Council of Black Women, Inc., before the Senate Subcommittee on Oversight of
Government Management, Restructuring, and The District of Columbia hearing on the Social Impact of Music Violence, November 6, 1997
6Blacks dance to deadly beat in Toronto's clubs, Globe and Mail, November 2, 2002
7 50 Cent’s Get Rich Tells Black Kids They’ve Two Options - Wealth or Death, BlackAmericaWeb.com, October 30, 2005
8 Paramount’s New 50 Cent movie targeted for protest, Eurweb, October 25, 2005
9 Studio cuts back ‘get rich’ billboards, Los Angeles Times, October 29, 2005
10 Community activists protest billboard featuring rapper 50 Cent, Our Weekly, October 27, 2005
11 50 Cent has Brooklyn under the Gun, Associated Press, October 29, 2005
12 Bullet-proof vest protects Montreal concert-goer, Toronto Sun, April 24, 2004
13 Fantino labels rap star ‘criminal’, Toronto Star, April 14, 2004
14 Police step up patrols at theaters, Pittsburgh Tribune Review, November 12, 2005
1
2
50 Cent Lyrics
P.I.M.P. Lyrics
I don't know what you heard about me
But a bitch can't get a dollar out of me
No Cadillac, no perms, you can't see
That I'm a motherfucking P-I-M-P
[Repeat]
Now shorty, she in the club, she dancing for dollars
She got a thing for that Gucci, that Fendi, that Prada
That BCBG, Burberry, Dolce and Gabana
She feed them foolish fantasies, they pay her cause they wanna
I spit a little G man, and my game got her
A hour later, have that ass up in the Ramada
Them trick niggas in her ear saying they think about her
I got the bitch by the bar trying to get a drink up out her
She like my style, she like my smile, she like the way I talk
She from the country, think she like me cause I'm from New York
I ain't that nigga trying to holla cause I want some head
I'm that nigga trying to holla cause I want some bread
I could care less how she perform when she in the bed
Bitch hit that track, catch a date, and come and pay the kid
Look baby this is simple, you can't see
You fucking with me, you fucking with a P-I-M-P
I'm bout my money you see, girl you can holla at me
If you fucking with me, I'm a P-I-M-P
Not what you see on TV, no Cadillac, no greasy
Head full of hair, bitch I'm a P-I-M-P
Come get money with me, if you curious to see
how it feels to be with a P-I-M-P
Roll in the Benz with me, you could watch TV
From the backseat of my V, I'm a P-I-M-P
Girl we could pop some champagne and we could have a ball
We could toast to the good life, girl we could have it all
We could really splurge girl, and tear up the mall
If ever you needed someone, I'm the one you should call
I'll be there to pick you up, if ever you should fall
If you got problems, I can solve'em, they big or they small
That other nigga you be with ain't bout shit
I'm your friend, your father, and confidant, BITCH
I told you fools before, I stay with the tools
I keep a Benz, some rims, and some jewels
I holla at a hoe til I got a bitch confused
She got on Payless, me I got on gator shoes
I'm shopping for chinchillas, in the summer they cheaper
Man this hoe you can have her, when I'm done I ain't gon keep her
Man, bitches come and go, every nigga pimpin know
You saying it's secret, but you ain't gotta keep it on the low
Bitch choose with me, I'll have you stripping in the street
Put my other hoes down, you get your ass beat
Now Nik my bottom bitch, she always come up with my bread
The last nigga she was with put stitches in her head
Get your hoe out of pocket, I'll put a charge on a bitch
Cause I need 4 TVs and AMGs for the six
Hoe make a pimp rich, I ain't paying bitch
Catch a date, suck a dick, shiiit, TRICK
Yeah, in Hollywoood they say there's no b'ness like show b'ness
In the hood they say, there's no b'ness like hoe b'ness ya know
They say I talk a lil fast, but if you listen a lil faster
I ain't got to slow down for you to catch up, BITCH
© 2005 LyricsOnDemand.com All lyrics are property and copyright of their owners. All lyrics provided for educational purposes only.
LyricsOnDemand.®
50 Cent Lyrics
Get In My Car Lyrics
I'm a straight guerilla with it, cold hearted killa wit it
Any nigga gettin' outta line can get it
I make it hot, mothafuckas freeze up when I come through
Mac-10, thirty two shot clip in my snorkel
I might smile and say whats up but I don't fuck with you niggas
My rap money slow up, I'll run up on you niggas
I'm on the edge, I'm just waitin' on a nigga to push me
Put my hand on my strap, what you lookin' at pussy
We ain't buddies, we ain't partners and we damn sure ain't friends
So much chrome on my Benz, you see ya face in my rims
If your bitch wanna roll, I'ma let her get in
I don't play but I'm a playa till the mothafuckin' end [gunshots]
I got no pickup lines
I stay on the grind
I tell the hoes all the time
Bitch get in my car (Bitch get in)
I got my 64, ridin' on Dayton spokes
And when I open that do'
Bitch get in my car
Don't tell me you don't know that, uhh I'm the shyiiit
Now you better watch ya girl mayn, I leave with ya bitch
I ain't shiting these hoes, man I'm bout my paper
If your bitch really bout it nigga I'm gon' take her
Backseat of my jeep, fuck till I fuck up her make up
Take her to the Diamond District, introduce her to Jacob
Tell her if she like me she should keep me icey
My game fuck with a bitch brain till she think she wifey
Spent a life savings in a day, cause she likes me
Committment for me, uhh nah not likely
When I with Vivica, I thought I was onto somethin'
But then the next week, nah man it was nothin' [gunshots]
I got no pickup lines
I stay on the grind
I tell the hoes all the time
Bitch get in my car (Bitch get in)
I got my 64, ridin' on Dayton spokes
And when I open that do'
Bitch get in my car
Look into the windows of my soul, the eyes never lie
They blood shot red, its gaunja in my system, I'm high
First its pain when you lust for love, then its smooth and calm
Feel the rush, like a needles in your arm
Its a cold world baby girl, lovin' me is not enough
Find out when you fuckin' broke, love won't get you on the bus
Man you should see the pretty bitches that be sexin' me
They suck cock that make 'em hot, I just let 'em stand next to me
Hundred percent thug, freak too, I'll taste your love
69's the position, your mouths full baby huhhhh?
My conversations so deep, I get in your head
Next thing you know, you yawnin', turnin' over and I'm in the bed [gunshots]
I got no pickup lines
I stay on the grind
I tell the hoes all the time
Bitch get in my car (Bitch get in)
I got my 64, ridin' on Dayton spokes
And when I open that do'
Bitch get in my car
Hahaha
Quit playin' bitch get it
You know you wanna ride with a nigga
50 Cent
G-G-G-G-G-Unit
© 2005 LyricsOnDemand.com All lyrics are property and copyright of their owners. All lyrics provided for educational purposes only.
LyricsOnDemand.®
50 Cent - Bulletproof
http://www.50centbulletproof.com/us/flash.html
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11/22/05
50 Cent - Bulletproof
http://www.50centbulletproof.com/us/flash.html
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11/22/05
Get Rich Or Die Tryin' Movie Staring 50 Cent - Official Site
http://www.getrichordietryinmovie.com/main.html
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10/20/05
Get Rich Or Die Tryin' Movie Staring 50 Cent - Official Site
http://www.getrichordietryinmovie.com/main.html
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11/09/05