Thug Life Army

For rappers the Ying Yang Twins, their performance was cancelled before they had a chance to bring its rap to Pro Player Stadium.

A day after announcing that the popular rap group would be playing Dec. 4 at the Florida Atlantic vs. Florida International football game, FAU had second thoughts after reviewing the group's explicit and obscenity-laden lyrics that focus on sex, drugs, drinking and partying.

"It's the right decision," said Mary Cameron, director of FAU's Women's Studies program. "Everybody recognizes those lyrics are offensive and degrading to women,” reports South Florida Sun-Sentinel

FAU Athletic Director Craig Angelos, who helped arrange the booking of the group, said he was aware some songs would be a problem, and that is why the contract stipulated the show would be designed for all ages.

"We were assured that the concert would be a family-friendly show," Angelos said. "But the university does not want to appear to be endorsing the kind of language found in their other songs."

FAU is desperate to get fans to its games in order to meet an NCAA mandated average of 15,000 per game. The Owls are more than 42,000 short with two games remaining and were hoping to attract up to 30,000 to Pro Player.

Along with the Ying Yang Twins, a Million Dollar Scramble was scheduled, along with free admission for any student with a school ID.

FAU focused on students because they had been averaging 6,000 at the first three home games after averaging fewer than 500 last year.

"This was a concert they would enjoy hearing," Angelos said.

FAU players agreed.

"That's a pretty good group. They should draw a nice crowd," said defensive back Quincy Skinner.

The Atlanta-based duo is one of the more popular examples of a Southern-bred style of rap known as crunk. Crunk anthems such as Get Low -- a collaboration between Ying Yang Twins and crunk rappers Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz -- have become popular at sporting events as rally music and introductions for athletes.

Crunk came out of Atlanta but also has origins in "Miami bass," a high-tempo, low-frequency mix of beats and chanted rhymes associated with X-rated Miami rapper Luther Campbell.

Dexter LaMont, head of marketing for the athletic department, said Ying Yang Twins have had several songs that can be played on the radio and also clean versions of other songs.

"That group will help us reach college students that we are trying to get to," LaMont said before the decision had been made to cancel.

But when news spread across campus about the concert, the lyrics of the songs that can''t be played on the radio became the focus. The Ying Yang Twins have released three full-length albums, and most of the songs fall into that category.

Available on the Internet, the lyrics are full of references to sex acts and littered with obscenities.

It was after looking at those, Angelos said, that the decision was made to cancel the $15,000 contract.

FAU will have to reimburse the group for the airline tickets they had already purchased, Angleos said.

FAU will try to find another group to replace the Ying Yang Twins, but with less than two weeks before the game, that was unlikely, Angelos said.