POP & ROCK

Rappers such as L L Cool J may still be the hottest things happening in the American pop music scene, but apparently West Africa is not quite prepared for the message just yet. Cool J is back home today after abruptly ending a concert in Ibadjan, the capital of the Ivory Coast, when fights broke out, several people fainted and the audience invaded the stage. “We felt that for the safety of L L (Cool J) and for the safety of the young girls who were hyperventilating, it was necessary to get him to leave the stage,” said Royale Bayyan, a coordinator of the concert. The one-night appearance in Ivory Coast’s principal city was the first live rap concert on the African continent. Commented Cool J: “From the first the crowd was real excited (but) we stopped it (because) we didn’t want to take it to a higher level.”