Unknown T cleared of Murder

Image via Salim Adam for adidas London

20 year old rapper Unknown T from Hackney, also known also known as Daniel Lena was recently cleared of murder at Old Bailey in London.

Unknown T’s entry into the music scene was very promising. His hit Homerton B not only put Homerton on the map, but sonically stood out in the Drill scene. This single broke mainstream official charts and the video has over 20million views on youtube. He also had recently signed a contract with Universal Music Group, as well as appearance at major festival such as Wireless and performing at London’s 20,000-capacity O2 Arena during a guest appearance at a Drake concert. With follow up tunes such as Throwback and features on songs such as Medusa the artist demonstrated how musically dynamic and diverse his art could be, and many believed that he could be one of the few Drill artist to break into mainstream Hip Hop and Pop culture.

However his career was brought to holt after being accused of murder Steve Narvaez -Jara. In Old street, Islington on 1st of January 2018 Steven Narvaez - Jara an engineering student at Hertfordshire University, was murdered at a house party. Subsequently Mohammed Musse along with Lena and Ramani Boreland were charged with murder.

The incident was allegedly initiated by a dispute over a girl. A snapchat video was played during the trial. It was captioned “beef got crackin", the video depicts attackers holding large wooden objects in a densely packed room. A witness said that there around 100 people in room when a fight broke out also involving a machete. Lena in defence of himself emphasized he was unaware of anyone being armed at party, and that he did not attack or punch anyone. Apparently the fight broke out between Mohammed Musse, who apparently was drunk and acting disorderly, and Steve. After chaos erupted at the party apparently Steve slipped and fell to floor and was hit by wooden sticks and stabbed with a Machete however the fatal wound was caused by a knife. He died of a stab wound to the heart however it is unconfirmed who his killer is.

While Musse and Boreland will be sentenced at a later date. Lena and Boreland was cleared of murder, however boreland was convicted of manslaughter by majority. Another man, Mohammed Musse, was convicted of violent disorder. Lena was also cleared of hiding a 4mm revolver and ammunition under his bed in 2017 at age 17, claiming the weapon was imposed on him by a stranger.

The question that this raises is what implications does this have the UK music scene. With rappers such as Loski on trial for carrying a hand gun, Headie one serving a sixth month sentence, and J Hus being sentenced to eight months in prison 2018 for carrying a knife. Many feel that UK Rappers are being unfairly targeted. The media and Metropolitan Police recently has had a clamp down on genres such as UK Drill and have been removing videos from platforms such as youtube

Speaking to the Guardian in 2018, Lena complained that the drill scene – long the subject of criticism in the media – was being unfairly attacked. “They don’t understand the reality,” he said. “It’s not about the music, it’s about what’s behind the music. You can’t blame the music, or say you’re giving a helping hand with no aid. They’re pointing the finger at us but forgetting there’s three fingers pointing back.”

This raises issues of public expression and freedom of speech, and who is really entitled to such liberties. Whether this is down to racial profiling or classism, as a large demographic involved in UK Rap scene are black or different ethnic minorities, it still important to note that on the other side speaking about one’s harsh reality in music can raise attention from police and media if it implicates you in crimes. Whether you were involved or not or simply a bystander or have changed your way of life, speaking your truth can get unwanted attention and this one of the risks many rappers UK Rappers facetoday. As for rapper Unknown T with him being cleared of charges and out on bail he has a promising career a head of him as he is talented artist that bring allot of originality to UK Drill genre, however he will need to put in work to regain his position in UK music scene, although the publicity this trial gained him could work in his favour and aid in his progress.

Top Boy Review - Grimier and Grittier than ever

Top Boy the exciting UK series that depicted struggles of urban life in poor communities became UK cult classic due to its realistic depiction, excellent camera work, sound & music, writing and raising awareness of the real issue of inner-city London communities. It enjoyed success for two series when it originally aired on Channel 4, however the show was brought abruptly to end and many believed it would never see the light of day again.

Drake a Toronto native and a world hip hop star, for a long time, has taken a liking to UK urban and black culture through grime and UK rap, while many such as Wiley perceived him to be a culture vulture he continued to show love to the UK. However it still came as surprise when he decided to bring back Top boy through partnering up with Netflix as well as bringing back the original cast 6 years since it had last aired. While many people got overhyped and some were sceptical, there was no denying there was the anticipation for the show would it surpass the original or would it be a misrepresentation of UK culture?

Especially with newcomers such as the renowned rapper Dave who has collaborated with Drake in the past, this was the first time he gets an opportunity to display his acting skills and if the show is successful it would be a big move for him.

I am glad to say the show surpasses expectations and is a satisfying watch. The level of quality in production is to an extremely high standard. When I first started watching it almost put me off due to the extreme cinematic advancement in comparison to the previous series, but once I adjusted there was no doubt that it was beautifully shot. The story itself is well laid out, complex but easy to a follow with high stakes and plenty of plot twist. Top Boy still retains the shock value, it feels bracingly different to almost every other TV drama around, and it continues to carve its path. As with its predecessors, the action is set in the heart of the drug-based gang wars of east London.

Without trying to spoil too much I will go over plot events and highlights of the show. It begins in Jamaica with Dushane far from the streets they used to run. He is lying low, struggling to live a civilian life while his ego keeps reminding him of the status he once commanded, faced with some extreme circumstances he is forced to go back to London. Sully, played with heartbreaking bluster and fragility by Kane “Kano” Robinson, is in prison, trying to keep his nose clean ahead of his imminent release.

However, a new generation of criminals is more than happy to step into the shoes that have been left vacant. Jamie (Michael Ward) is a sweet kid who takes care of his two younger brothers following the deaths of their parents. He is also a violent and ruthless gangster, this duality not only defines this character but also has huge subsequent impact on other characters and narrative arks. The other protagonist Modie played by Dave is in prison. These characters are all struggling for power and influence and there are many other characters narratives and plots from a love interest, family to betrayal that all play into the power dynamic. The characters are all rich well developed and are only an improvement on their character development from the previous show while new character such as dave is extremely unique, vibrant and bring allot show and are iconic

And the violence is gruesome. There are plenty of guns, knives and baseball bats. There are moments of excitement and confusion as disturbing ones too. The changes that are sometimes violent brought to top boy world symbolize the changing landscape of London. The Turks are the new Albanians, controlling the drugs supply until the younger, hungrier gangs grab at a brutal solution to a pricing problem. The fractious atmosphere of British society is always lurking in the background. County lines drug-dealing takes familiar characters to Ramsgate, against a backdrop of asylum seekers being abused and exploited on all sides. In London, immigration officials are cracking down using paperwork, fear-mongering and bureaucracy.

However while the show does give subtle references to previous story arks from its predecessor show, it fails to really continue to develop these in new series other than narratives of main characters such as the story of Michael, who’s only referenced in the new show is a brief flashback. It would have been a nice addition to hardcore returning fans of the show however ultimately I feel this is beneficial to the show it is not too reliant on the success and narratives of the previous show and instead comes up with unique narrative that are realistic scenarios and exciting to show but still relevant to overall series.

As result the series feels fresh new and rather than a bad continuation or remake of the original. The start at the beginning in Jamaica also could have been better executed the characters in jamaica were not as well executed or developed as London characters. For obvious reason the Jamaican accent/patois was watered down for television, however the real flaws lie in people such as Dushane’s cousin and Sugar. They are not as developed as other characters on the show due to their brief appearances however this is not to underestimate their overall importance to narrative ark as they still play significant role. Other characters such as crazy eye’d Jamaican (forgot the dons name) and Alessandro Babalola played by Haze do bring more to the role however it would have been nice to know more about the Jamaican characters motives and relationships rather than them just being a motive for the Dushane to go back to the UK.

Ultimately the show is an extremely good watch, I binged it and it surpassed my expectations that I had developed from watching the original. The characters are well developed the narratives are complex and interesting, It is extremely well shot, the show references real-life issues from gun and knife crime, county lines, acid attacks, deportation, drug addiction, single parents and more that occur in the UK today however it does this in an entertaining way not over the top and lot of these scenes hold serious weight. Overall I would give the show an 8.5 - 9 out of 10 or 4/5 stars