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MAGAZINE
Black The Ripper, Dank Of England & Barcelona The Cannabis Club
Rest In Peace, Dean West - Black The Ripper.
Black the Ripper, a stage name used by Dean West, a British rapper, grime MC, campaigner, and businessman from Edmonton, London, passed away in April 2020. His record company, Dank of England (formerly known as Black Magic Entertainment), grew to include a clothing line and a supplier of cannabis accessories. He was also well-known for his viral stunts that involved smoking marijuana in public, which he thought would result in the legalisation of the drug in the United Kingdom.
West was one of the first musicians to use the grime genre, and his mixtapes Afro Samurai (2006), Summer Madness (2007), and Holla Black helped him become well-known (2007). Additionally, he was among the first musicians to appear on the British urban music channel SB.TV. Throughout his career, West has produced a number of mixtape series, most notably Outlaw and Black Is Beautiful. He earned widespread recognition in 2015 while promoting the release of his debut EP Excuse Me Whilst I Kiss Sky and advocating for the legalisation of cannabis in the United Kingdom. Before his debut studio album Money Grows on Trees, which was published in August 2018 on his indie label, Dank of England, he went on to release two additional EPs: In Dank We Trust and Doe or Die.
West's body was discovered at his vacation rental on the Caribbean island of Montserrat on April 6, 2020. His death was under investigation to identify the cause. His family acknowledged on July 7, 2020, that an autopsy had revealed that he had died of a heart attack. Edmonton, a suburb of north London, is where West's Guyanese and Montserratian-born parents gave birth to him. He attended Aylward School while still a teen, but left when he was 16 years old. Even though he said he wasn't a big football fan, he was an ardent follower of Arsenal FC and had been since he was a little child due to the fact that his father was also a fan of the team.
West began his musical career at the age of 15 in 2003. He achieved this by taking part in grime fights at the underground radio station Axe FM, where he often fought different rivals. West received a lot of attention when Axe FM owner Pabz organised a clash tournament, even though Black and grime collectives Rowdy Squad and X Camp frequently visited the station. He claimed that Tupac Shakur, Biggie Smalls, Mobb Deep, Busta Rhymes, Nas, and Bob Marley were his musical inspirations in an interview with MTV. West acknowledged his love of music when asked about his drive to create it. His best-known song at the time was "Death is Promised," which was released in 2005. In addition, West claimed that historical and frequently political personalities like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. serve as inspiration for his music. To little success, he released his first mixtape Motivation Music: Volume on January 1, 2007, his second mixtape Motivation Music: Volume 2 on March 1, and his third mixtape Summer Madness on February 7, 2007. On March 7, 2007, he released his fourth mixtape, Holla Black, which is now regarded as a classic in the grime genre.
One of the first musicians to record on SB.TV was West, who has published a number of freestyles and bars sessions with ASB, Chip, and Ghetts among others. His first compilation CD, The Edmonton Dream, which was published on December 28, 2009, included a number of these freestyles. The 60-track album featured appearances from a variety of grime MCs, including DJ Ironik, Wiley, and Chip, among others.
He appeared alongside Lady Leshurr, Mic Righteous, and Shotty on the Flexplicit and Royce da 5'9" and All Stars remix of their song "SB.TV" that was released in January 2011.
During the 2011 London riot, West expressed his disapproval of the situation, claiming that individuals who weren't in the impacted areas had no right to remark on the riots and that the participants' actions were egotistical and uncaring.
On March 28, 2011, he released Outlaw: Volume 1, his sixth mixtape, which included vocal contributions from Wiley, Frisco, and others.
On the same day as its initial release in 2005, Black is Beautiful: Volume 1 became downloadable digitally.
Together with English Frank and Big Narstie, West played at A Day in Dam in 2013 as well as the Hip Hop Kemp Festival in the Czech Republic.
He released three more mixtapes the following year. The compilation album Unreleased S**t: Volume 3 and his eighth, Married to Marijuana, which featured 13 songs about his passion for marijuana, are included here. On October 31, 2012, he released Black Is Beautiful: Volume 2, his ninth mixtape. There were features on the 13-track mixtape from Dot Rotten, Loudmouth, and Shystie, among others.
High End Weed Music, West's eleventh mixtape and Iron Barz's collaborative project, was made public on April 20, 2014.
It was his second piece specifically focused on cannabis culture. West published the second volume of his political hip-hop mixtape series Outlaw on August 29, 2014. Features from Lowkey, Akala, Jaja Soze, Benny Banks, and other artists were included in Volume 2. High End 2 came after on December 14, 2014.
Excuse Me Whilst I Kiss Sky is the name of West's first EP. On May 4, 2015, a seven-track EP with vocal contributions from Iron Barz, L Skinz, and Jyager was made available. West earned notoriety for a viral stunt with Trollstation to make a music video on the London Eye at 4:20 p.m. on April 20, 2016 (also known as "4/20" in American date format), where they were caught smoking and dancing inside the enclosure. In April 2016, West released "Light Up Everywhere," a "Weed Remix" of Uber Everywhere.
In 2017, the mixtape BNB, created by Joe Black and Benny Banks, featured West.
West unexpectedly released an EP named In Dank We Trust in honour of the 420 holiday.
West recruited Iron Barz, Stoner, Footsie, and other artists for vocal contributions on this independently distributed album. Doe or Die: Volume 1 is West's second EP, which was released on October 1st, 2017. West purposefully set the album's pricing at £4.20 in consideration of the cannabis culture once more.
2018 saw the release of West's track "Bill It," which featured Big Narstie, Chip, and Smasher on vocals.
West made an appearance on Chip and Mist's hit Marijuana, which Capital XTRA named one of the finest grime songs of 2018.
The song later served as the album's lead single, Money Grows on Trees, which was released in August 2018. The album's overarching subject is his love of marijuana. With the song "My Name is Black The Ripper," which serves as the album's opening track, West gives new listeners a brief introduction to his identity. Before the album begins, the song serves as a brief introduction to the performer.
West gave a performance at the February 2019 Colours Community Festival.
At the time, he disclosed that he was developing a follow-up to his previous EP Doe or Die. Doe or Die: Volume 2 will be released on October 12, 2019, it was revealed soon after. The CD was another product of Iron Barz and my collaboration.
West has a significant impact on current UK rap music. The current generation of UK rap artists, like Capo Lee, have been credited with drawing inspiration from his studio album Money Grows on Trees.
After listening to Black The Ripper's mixtape "The Edmonton Dream," Rimzee was inspired to name his 2019 album "The Upper Clapton Dream."
The track "Sunset" by Black the Ripper was released on December 28, 2020, which would have been his 34th birthday.
Iron Barz, a D.O.E. associate, was featured in the graphics, which were also made available on GRM Daily.
West established his own business, Dank of England, in 2015. (D.O.E.). Independent record company Dank of England also creates a clothing line and smoking accessories in addition to operating as a record label. It functions as a revival of Black Magic Entertainment, his former independent label. With co-founder and partner Screechtree, the couple had been operating pop-up shops on a seasonal basis since 2017. The debut has been quite successful. Black attracted national attention for a viral prank with Trollstation to make a music video for 4/20 on the London Eye in November 2016. They were seen smoking and dancing while being shot. According to The Irish News, Black's D.O.E. is "the most pro-cannabis and British a corporation can get." West appeared in the Vice documentary How Weed Laws are Failing the UK, which was released on October 24, 2016. West said that his marijuana use contributed to his professional success and that his antics were an effort to get marijuana legalised. In response to EasyJet's restriction on smoking on board, Black said, "I prefer RyanAir anyway." Black also used marijuana within his neighbourhood Asda. In April 2016, West released "Light Up Everywhere," a "Weed Remix" of Uber Everywhere.
West was believed to have passed away while on vacation in Montserrat on April 6, 2020. He was reportedly discovered dead in the vacation rental he was occupying. He was reportedly 32 years old when he passed away. The Royal Montserrat Police opened a thorough inquiry into the circumstances surrounding his death the day after his death, and a coroner ordered an autopsy. His family acknowledged on July 7, 2020, that an autopsy had revealed that he had died of a heart attack. On September 25, 2020, West's funeral procession made a stop at the Westerham Post Office so that mourners may pay their respects. At Edmonton Cemetery, he was laid to rest.
Longtime collaborators Chip, Lowkey, and Ghetts, Novelist, Skepta, Krept, Lethal Bizzle, Michael Dapaah, Yungen, Nadia Rose, AJ Tracey, and Ambush were among many who paid tribute to West. In response to West's passing, musician Jammer recorded a memorial song named "Hope Dealers." Jammer provided the downtempo lyrics while Skully and Jammer co-produced the song. On April 20, 2020, Chip released a song in honour of Black the Ripper with the title "0420," which has a double meaning given the popularity of marijuana and West's death anniversary. Black the Ripper's song "Missing You" was sampled in this song.
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