The Game - or Jayceon Terrell Taylor - has sold millions of albums worldwide and will perform in Rotorua on August 15 as part of his first New Zealand tour.
The famous artist is well-known for feuds with other artists and for having served jail time for felony weapons charges.
It's also been reported that he was a member of the Bloods gang, spent time selling drugs and has been charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and allegedly threatening a person with a gun and impersonating a police officer.
Debate over who should and shouldn't perform in Rotorua was sparked in 2007 when it was announced notorious R'n B bad boy Bobby Brown was to hold a show in the city.
He eventually cancelled his planned Rotorua concert because of poor ticket sales - something which was partly blamed on the negative publicity.
Then Rotorua MP Steve Chadwick and performer Sir Howard Morrison had questioned whether Brown should be allowed in to New Zealand given his long list of drug and drink-driving convictions.
At the time Sir Howard said celebrities with criminal histories should not be allowed into New Zealand.
He did not want to comment on The Game yesterday, saying he would leave the matter to the Immigration Department.
Rotorua MP Todd McClay said yesterday he hadn't heard of the performer but some of what he'd seen on the internet "certainly raised questions".
He planned to contact immigration staff to check they were aware The Game planned to come to New Zealand. There were rules around who was allowed into the country and he wanted to see the performer treated the same as any other person, he said.
Some of what he had read on the internet raised questions about whether The Game was a good role model for youngsters, Mr McClay said.
However, he was cautious about central or local government having a say about who should be allowed to perform in New Zealand if they'd been allowed in and weren't breaking laws, he said.
If the performer was eligible to enter the country, Mr McClay said it would be up to Rotorua as a community to determine whether they believed he was a good role model by deciding whether or not to support the concert.
The MP said it would be "a cold day in hell" before he took his children to see The Game.
Events and Venues Rotorua general manager Peter McLeod said he was not aware of the performer's convictions. It was up to the promoter of the tour to apply for a visa.
Mr McLeod said if it were felt there was the chance of trouble, his staff would most certainly look into it. However, The Game was a popular entertainer whose music appealed to young people, he said.
"I see no reason why he shouldn't perform here if he's allowed into the country."
The Game is also to perform in Auckland and Wellington as part of his The Game: LAX Tour 2009.
Some of The Game's most well-known hits include How We Do, Hate It Or Love It, Let's Ride, My Life, Dreams, It's Ok (One Blood) and his new single Camera Phone featuring Ne-Yo.
Tickets for The Game's Lax Tour 2009 go on sale next Thursday.
Tickets for the planned Rotorua concert are available from Ticketmaster.
source : http://www.rotoruadailypost.co.nz
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