lifestyle MONDAY, JULY 27, 2015 Features Swedish police briefly hold US rapper Snoop Dogg

S rapper Snoop Dogg was briefly arrested by Swedish police on suspicion of using illegal drugs, police sources said yesterday. “Police carrying out roadside Ucontrols noticed that Snoop Dogg (whose car was pulled over) seemed to be under the influence of narcotics. He was arrested and taken to the police station to take a urine test,” said Daniel Nilsson, a police spokesman for the central Uppsala region. The incident happened after the celebrity rapper gave a concert in the area on Saturday night. “The incident lasted several minutes. Once the test was carried out he left,” Nilsson added. The test results were not immediately available. It is far from the 43-year-old music star’s first brush with the law. Snoop Dogg’s song lyrics often dis- play his fondness for marijuana and he has previously had run-ins with police else- where over the drug. —AFP

Dave Grohl of the band Foo Fighters performs at the Ansan Valley Rock Festival in Ansan, south of Seoul yesterday. The Ansan Snoop Dog Valley Rock Festival is an annual music festival featuring a mix of regional and international acts. —AFP Minaj shows black women’s challenges

icki Minaj’s “Anaconda” video opens and is often considered to have roots in in a jungle and the camera goes West Africa. Nstraight to the heart, or rather bot- And Cyrus, the onetime child star on the tom, of the matter-the rapper’s derriere, Disney television series “Hannah Montana,” which she gyrates with sensual delight. The managed permanently to transform her video is a five-minute celebration of a black image into a sex symbol. More recently, woman’s body and has been watched nearly Swift slipped underneath twerking women half a billion times on YouTube, breaking of color in her video for “Shake It Off,” as she what at the time was the record for first-day teased about her inability to learn various views. The failure of “Anaconda” to land a dances. nomination in the top category at MTV’s “The advantage that white women have Video Music Awards led Minaj to speak out, is that they are automatically presumed to charging that the music industry preferred be sexually pure, so any deviation from that to recognize women with “very slim” forms. is seen as a break from the patriarchal con- Much of the media attention focused on fines of sexual oppression,” said Cate Young, Taylor Swift as she performs onstage at the Rock the response by nominee Taylor Swift who, author of the feminist pop culture blog in Rio USA music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada. casting herself as a feminist, asked Minaj BattyMamzelle. “Women of color are coming why she would “pit women against each from a place where we are presumed to be other” and invited her to join her on stage if sexually deviant and so we are left in a posi- Swift won. Minaj said that the white super- tion of either confirming that stereotype by star missed the point and Swift later apolo- expressing our very normal human sexuali- gized, marking a rare false note for the coun- ty, or repressing our sexuality in order to try-turned-pop singer who has carefully cul- avoid stereotypes. “So either way, we don’t tivated an anodyne image. Minaj welcomed win.” the apology and said there was no, in the words of Swift’s nominated song, bad blood. Only latest controversy But the Trinidad-born, New York-bred artist Controversy also erupted over the latest urged greater discussion on the role of Nicki Minaj, left, and Meek Mill perform at the BET Awards at the MicrosoftGrammys, where white Australian rapper African American women in music. “Black Theater. —AP/AFP photos Iggy Azalea was nominated for four awards, women influence pop culture so much but some behinds-notably 1992’s “Baby Got reclaiming the body-she is reclaiming the although she went home empty-handed. are rarely rewarded for it,” she wrote on Back” by Sir Mix-a-Lot, with its refrain “I like booty-for women’s own self-affirmation as a Rapper Azealia Banks was especially outspo- Twitter. big butts and I cannot lie”-but the women of sign of beauty and pride-’Yes, look at me, if ken by accusing Azalea-who performs in a “Anaconda” twerk their bottoms with nary a you’re going to look,’” she said. southern African American accent-of cultur- ‘Ironically exotic’ man in sight. al exploitation. White artists’ adaptation of Women of color have seen success previ- The only man comes at the end, when The politics of twerking African American culture is as old as rock ously at the MTV awards, with past winners Minaj-singing, “I want to see all the big fat As “Anaconda” was passed over for and roll. But, the cultural sociologist Carolyn for Video of the Year including Rihanna, ...... ”-lap dances around the seated rapper Video of the Year, MTV announced the host Chernoff said, “appropriation is not the same Missy Elliot and Beyonce, who was again Drake. As he reaches to touch, she slaps his of the August 30 gala would be Miley as appreciation.” “It’s not to say that white nominated this year. But “Anaconda”-which hand away. Cyrus, who at the 2013 awards famously people can only square-dance or clog,” she was nominated in three categories including “She is definitely playing on racial stereo- stripped to a skin-color bikini and twerked said. “But it’s saying that there are certain Best Hip-Hop Video-stands out for its bold types but I think she’s also turning them on with singer Robin Thicke. The performance ways that white artists knowingly use cul- cultural message, starting with the ironically their head,” said Janell Hobson, an associate brought mainstream exposure to twerking, ture that is associated with a particular kind Nicki Minaj performs at the 2015 Hot 97 Summer Jam exotic setting of a jungle with scantily clad professor of women’s studies at the State the bottoms-in-the-air dance that grew of American blackness, and do it in ways at MetLife Stadium, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. black women. Other songs have extolled ful- University of New York at Albany. “She is from the 1990s New Orleans bounce scene that reinforce harmful stereotypes.” —AFP Vince Neil drops lawsuit Premiere of ‘Tristan over social media passwords

otley Crue frontman Vince Neil got and Isolde’ scores hit back his social media passwords Mafter suing a consultant he hired to manage the accounts and accusing her of at Bayreuth Festival posting online without his consent, a lawyer for the rocker said Friday. Kristy Sinsara handed over the passwords and the case brand-new production of Richard Merkel, who was among the illustrious was dismissed in early June, attorney James Wagner’s opera “Tristan and Isolde” by guests attending the glittering first night, Kohl confirmed. The breach-of-contract law- Athe composer’s great-granddaughter told the German news agency DPA that she suit accused Sinsara of holding the pass- was warmly received at its premiere on had liked the production. Separately, the words hostage and making unauthorized Saturday, marking the start of this year’s leg- mass-circulation daily Bild reported that posts. Sinsara said Friday that Neil had the endary Bayreuth Festival. Thirty-seven-year- Merkel had allegedly suffered a dizzy spell Drake passwords all along. old Katharina Wagner, who runs the month- during the first of two intervals during the In the March lawsuit filed in state court in long summer music fest, was greeted with evening. ‘Charged Up’ Drake hits Las Vegas, Neil said he gave his Facebook, Vince Neil speaks at a Motley Crue cheers and applause by the first-night audi- The newspaper said Merkel had briefly LinkedIn and Twitter account passwords to ence when she took her curtain call at the fainted and slipped from her chair in a and Kiss tour news conference in Los Sinsara, who said she was a social media Angeles. —AP end of the six-hour performance. By contrast, restaurant, but guests came to her aid. It was back at ghostwriting claim branding expert and would manage the boos were heard for conductor Christian two minutes before she felt able to get up accounts. Sinsara offered to manage the passwords, saying Neil always had access to ip-hop star Drake has hit back at charges he relies on ghost- Thielemann and German soprano Evelyn again, the newspaper said. Organizers were profiles for free in exchange for promotion his accounts. “I did not give Vince Neil any- writers for his songs, releasing a new track dissing his accuser Herlitzius, who had taken on the demanding not immediately available to confirm the of her book and self-help website, according thing he did not already have,” she said which quickly went viral online. Fellow rapper Meek Mill role of Isolde at very short notice. information. The Bayreuth Festival is one of H to court records. When Neil asked for the Friday in an email, adding that the rock star recently took to Twitter to accuse Drake of not writing his own songs Katharina’s was a dark and deeply pes- the highlights in Germany’s cultural calen- passwords in December 2014, Sinsara gave also could have verified his account directly and suggested that the Toronto-born artist retaliated for his knowl- simistic reading of one of Wagner’s best- dar and Merkel and her husband Joachim him the one for Twitter but not the others, with Facebook. The lawsuit turned into a edge of the secret by not promoting Mill’s work. Drake-whose latest loved operas, setting the action in a maze of Sauer have been regular guests for many according to the lawsuit. Later, Sinsara hand- case of who didn’t like whom. It claimed mix tape topped the US album chart and who recently headlined staircases in the first act where the two lovers years. ed over the Facebook password but enabled Sinsara kept the passwords from Neil major festivals including Coachella-broke his silence late Saturday to can never come together. The second act A long list of government ministers and a security feature allowing access only from because she didn’t like his girlfriend, Rain respond in verse with a diss song entitled “Charged Up.” depicts the jealous King Marke, to whom regional and local politicians from the her computer, records say. Hannah, and suspected Hannah would pro- The song soon hit number one on Billboard’s Trending 140 Isolde is betrothed, as an evil and manipula- southern state of Bavaria also attended. Sinsara has said it was a misunderstand- mote her business ventures on the rocker’s chart, which looks at social media impact in the United States. tive figure who imprisons the two lovers in Tickets for Bayreuth are still among the hard- ing. She disputed Friday that the case was accounts. Sinsara said the lawsuit was filed “Wow, I’m honored that you think this is staged,” Drake raps over a his own personal torture chamber, where est to come by in the world of opera and dismissed because she handed over the because she stood up to Hannah. —AP Tristan is eventually stabbed to death. The classical music, with the waiting list stretch- minimalist beat. “I seen it all coming... ‘cause it ain’t like I need the third and final act shows the delirium of the ing to as many as 13 or 14 years for some money I make off a feature,” Drake said, presumably explaining dying Tristan. US tenor Stephen Gould was productions. This year marks the 150th why he did not promote Mill’s album. Referring to recent police Cruise says ‘Top Gun’ rapturously applauded for his intense por- anniversary since “Tristan and Isolde” had its killings of African Americans that have provoked outrage, Drake trayal of Tristan. world premiere. Katharina Wagner’s is only raps, “Cops are killing people with their arms up / And your main sequel ‘would be fun’ Herlitzius gave a scorching performance the 11th production of the work at the focus is trying to harm us?” as Isolde, making up in sheer stage presence Bayreuth Festival. The Bayreuth Festival runs Drake debuted the song on Apple Music, the tech giant’s new ollywood star Tom Cruise says he Executive David Ellison was quoted in media for what she might have lacked in tonal until August 28 with 30 performances of streaming and radio service for which he has been a prominent would be open to reprising his 1980s reports as saying work on a “Top Gun 2” beauty. German mezzo Christa Mayer and seven different operas-”Tristan and Isolde”, spokesman. Drake referred to his Apple collaboration in “Charged Hrole as US Navy pilot Maverick in a screenplay was underway. “It would be fun. I Scottish baritone Iain Paterson were also “Lohengrin”, “The Flying Dutchman” and the Up” as a way to tell Mill that he has been successful. Drake appeared possible sequel to action drama “Top Gun”. would like to get back into those jets,” Cruise outstanding in the roles of Brangaene and “Ring” comprising “Rhinegold”, “The Valkyrie”, to confirm in the song that the company paid him $20 million. Mill, The 1986 blockbuster turned Cruise into a told Reuters at the London premiere of his Kurwenal. German Chancellor Angela “Siegfried” and “Twilight of the Gods”. —AFP while not taking back his accusations, wrote on Twitter of the song: “I major box office draw. Last month, film pro- latest action film “Mission: Impossible - Rogue can tell he wrote that one, though.” —AFP ducer and Skydance media company Chief Nation” on Saturday night. —Reuters