Snoop and Diddy cancel UK concerts after Visa problem

British enthusiasts eagerly waiting for joint concerts featuring their favorites Snoop Dogg and P. Diddy, will not have the pleasure of seeing the two performing live in concert, as the rapper Snoop has been denied a visa by British authorities.

According to British Home Office rules, foreign citizens can be barred from entering the country if there were concerns about their presence, such as possession of weapons and/or drugs.

Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, has a history of similar violations. In April 2006, Snoop Dogg and five other men were nabbed on charges of violent disorder and starting a brawl. The trouble popped up when some in his troupe were denied entry to British Airways' first class lounge at Heathrow Airport. Consequently, they spent the night in jail.

In October last year, the rapper was arrested at Burbank Airport after the police found a gun and marijuana in his car. He was booked and later released on bail set at $35, 000.

A month later, in November, he was arrested near Los Angeles on weapons and narcotics charges. He was booked for keeping the marijuana, cocaine and a firearm in his car. He later was released on a bail amount of $60, 000.

In the same month, he charged for attempting to carry a deadly weapon, a collapsible police baton, placed in his computer bag, onto a plane at John Wayne Airport in Orange County in September.

Earlier this month Snoop was arrested in Sweden on suspicion of minor drug offenses, however later he was released, pending the results of drug tests.

The hip-hop artist was previously barred from entering Britain in May 2006. On the basis of rapper’s criminal record, the British Ministry denied Snoop Dogg a visa.

Consequently, the U.S. rappers Snoop Dogg and Sean "Diddy" Combs cancelled their tour of Britain, publicists for his tour said in a statement.

The pair, currently on a European tour, had been expected to perform a string of arena dates in London, Cardiff, Manchester, Glasgow and Nottingham. After calling off the concerts in these places, the duo are "incredibly disappointed and devastated" their music company, Polydor said in a statement.

"With late notice of Snoop being denied a visa, time has run out and it is too late to reconfigure the show," it said. "They really did not want to let fans down this way as the UK was a planned highlight of the tour. However, this ultimately was a situation out of their control.”

Expressing his frustration over the UK authorities’ decision, Snoop said: "They knew I was coming six, seven weeks ago, so they could have denied me access then,” adding that "I cannot control my past - me being an ex-gang member, ex-drug dealer - but I know how to do what's right, how to turn my life around."

Born on October 20th, 1971, in Long Beach, California, the rap star made his recording debut in the early 1990s as a gangsta rap protege of Dr. Dre and his 1993 debut album "Doggystyle," entered the charts at number one. After he shot to fame in Rap, the singer also played a drug-dealer-turned-informant in the 2004 cop movie Starsky & Hutch.

Born on November 4 1969 in New York City, Sean John Combs, better known as P. Diddy is an American entertainment mogul, record producer, actor and rapper.