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CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA - Australia has lifted a visa ban on Snoop Dogg, with a new government clearing the way for the gangsta rapper to tour in October in a double act with Ice Cube.
Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr., was refused entry to Australia in 2007 because of his criminal record, sinking plans for him to co-host the MTV Australia Video Music Awards.
"He has now been assessed under the character test as having passed, so he will be given a visa," an immigration official told Reuters. The visa would clear the way for a 17-day visit from October 21, the official said.
Snoop Dogg was banned by Australia's former conservative government, which lost power last year to the centre-left Labor government of Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. Labor has steadily softened tough immigration laws while in power.
Critics say Snoop Dogg's lyrics are racist and sexist. The rapper has sold over 17 million records.
His criminal record counts several drug and firearm charges since 1990, including a 1993 acquittal for murder. He has also been denied entry to Britain.
Australian victims of crime groups said they would complain to immigration officials in a bid to have the visa approval overturned.
"Snoop Dogg trades in toxic messages of menace, violence, misogyny and lawlessness," Angela Conway, of the Australian Family Association, told the Herald Sun newspaper.
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