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MERCY MUROKI
Drill music doesn’t just reflect violence on our streets – it fuels it and it’s time this toxic genre was stopped
Exposing young, impressionable men to drill music is as good as setting them up for a life of violence
SCUMBAG Jake Fahri, who murdered 16-year-old schoolboy Jimmy Mizen in 2008, is back where he belongs – behind bars.
This comes after The Sun exposed him as London drill rapper Ten, an alias he used to produce vile music glorifying violence, including bragging about murder.
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He was recalled to prison on Thursday after The Sun passed an exclusive dossier to the Ministry of Justice showing he broke the conditions of his release.
Jimmy’s murder was horrific.
Fahri, then 19, launched an unprovoked attack on the teenager in a bakery, hurling an oven dish that shattered, severing blood vessels in Jimmy’s neck.
Fahri received a life sentence with a shameful minimum term of 14 years.
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Fast forward to 2023, and this so-called “life” sentence saw him walk free.
The Sun’s revelations this week — that under his rap name Ten, Fahri appears to have been making drill songs boasting about Jimmy’s murder — is sickening.
Jimmy’s parents have said they were “stunned into silence” when they were told about the violent lyrics.
In one of Fahri’s songs, which has been available on platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, he appears to reference Jimmy’s death with the lyrics: “Stuck it on a man and watched him melt like Ben and Jerry’s”. He later brags about “sharpening up” his blade.
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In another, he raps: “See a man’s soul fly from his eyes and his breath gone. I wanted more, it made it less wrong.
“Seeing blood spilled same floor he was left on.”
Jimmy Mizen's mum 'disappointed' with BBC for 'playing songs of a murderer'
As if that isn’t revolting enough, the BBC was found to have played Fahri’s music.
Yes, you read that right — the taxpayer-funded national broadcaster amplified the voice of a killer glorifying murder.
The Mizen family has been let down at every turn — first by the justice system and now by media companies profiting from and promoting this killer’s tunes. It is just another stark reminder of why we need to do something about the proliferation of drill music.
The genre has become a rallying cry for gangs and violent criminals, with its lyrics often serving as a chilling play-by-play account of real-life gang rivalries, revenge killings and thuggery.
It doesn’t just reflect the violence on our streets, it actively fuels it.
Last year, a judge hit out at drill music for stoking a feud that resulted in the machete slaying of a 14-year-old boy.
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Vile crimes
And it is no coincidence that rap and drill music is increasingly being used as evidence in court for serious crime cases, many of which are gang-related murders. One study found rap and drill music was used as evidence in cases covering 252 defendants in England and Wales over a three-year period.
And the grim list of convicted drill rappers continues to grow. Many shamelessly boast about their evil acts in their lyrics, reducing their vile crimes to mere beats and melodies.
Some people say that drill is just a misunderstood art form. That it’s a way for young men on the margins of society to express their emotions and frustrations. Spare me the naivety.
Exposing young, impressionable men to drill music is as good as setting them up for a life of violence.
Met Police Chief Sir Mark Rowley has said that in London over the past decade, young black men have been 13 times more likely to be murdered than young white men.
Gangs prey on these young men, and drill music plays a central role in stoking tensions between rival groups.
With knife crime ravaging London, and young black men disproportionately suffering, you would think those concerned about black deaths would be shouting from the rooftops about the harmful impact of drill music. But there’s radio silence.
And tech platforms including YouTube, Spotify and TikTok are complicit.
We owe it to families like the Mizens to ensure that those who peddle violence in their songs face real consequences
These billion-pound companies claim to have policies against violent content, yet they allow drill tracks glorifying murder to remain online.
That’s why it’s time to de-platform drill.
Nobody should be profiting off this toxic genre — not the artists, not the platforms, and certainly not broadcasters like the BBC.
In fact, the courts should be issuing more restrictions against criminals making the music.
There is already precedent for this.
In 2018, drill group 1011 was banned from releasing music with violent lyrics without police permission after some of their members were jailed for conspiracy to commit violent disorder.
I say roll this out to all the other violent gangsters.
This isn’t about censorship or suppressing freedom of expression.
No one is calling for an all-out ban on drill.
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But we cannot allow thugs like Fahri to glorify violence under the guise of “artistic expression”.
We owe it to families like the Mizens to ensure that those who peddle violence in their songs face real consequences.
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The Mizen Foundation encourages youngsters to be peace-makers in their communities instead of turning to crime.
Millwall FC hosts its annual Jimmy’s Day fundraiser on February 1.
YOU CAN DONATE AT www.mizenfoundation.org.
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