A drug dealer was stabbed to death by two members of a rival gang after an attack which took place close to where a drill video had been filmed and uploaded to YouTube several weeks earlier.
The death of 19-year-old Kamal Nuur was the latest in a spiral of “tit-for-tat” violence between two gang alliances, a jury has been told.
Mr. Nuur, who was known as Dirtz, was stabbed to death in Islington, north London, on Sep. 14, 2020, the Old Bailey was told on Tuesday.
Michael Lebbie, 20, and Melvis Mariano, 23, deny murdering Mr. Nuur.
Prosecutor Charlotte Newell, KC, said the murder was part of a violent feud between two rival gang alliances, the 51st and the 71st.
It included an incident in March 2019 when Mr. Lebbie was run over and stabbed near the Regents Park Estate in northwest London.
She said the Agar Grove gang, which is part of the 71st alliance, took responsibility for the attack in a drill song and video.
Drill Video Taunted Rivals
In that video, members of the 71st taunted the 51st about the murders of two men, Alex Smith and Calvin Bungisa, in separate incidents in 2019. Smith was a drill rapper known as Culprit and Bungisa was known as Ceemizz.Ms. Newell said Mr. Nuur, was an associate of the 71st who was involved in the drug trade.
He had been rehoused in Birmingham after he was stabbed and his family home attacked in 2018.
But shortly before his murder he returned to the capital and was then reported missing by his family.
She said just before 8 p.m. on Sep. 14, 2020, Mr. Nuur was approached by two men on a bicycle and chased into an alleyway before being stabbed eight times. He collapsed and died in a car park as his attackers fled on the bike.
Ms. Newell said, “He was undoubtedly murdered in an attack by the two individuals who arrived on the bike and chased him into the alleyway and the real issue for you is the identity of the attackers.”
Long List of Violent Clashes
In her opening statement, Ms. Newell listed a series of deadly and non-fatal clashes between the two gang alliances.A third defendant, Abby Lowne, 20, denies assisting an offender by helping Mr. Mariano leave the area after the stabbing.
She is also charged with failing to comply with a notice to provide the PIN number for her mobile phone.
The trial is due to last several weeks.
The musical genre known as drill has its origins in Chicago’s South Side, where it was born around 2010.
To the outsider, there may be little to distinguish drill from other forms of hip-hop or “gangsta rap,” including trap and grime.
Musically, drill songs have an average of 140–150 beats per minute, compared with 100–130 for pop songs and 60–80 for R’n’B.
It was imported to the UK in 2012, and nowadays, London is home to numerous drill groups, who are often associated with street gangs.
In June 2019, the Labour MP and shadow home secretary Diane Abbott invited several drill artists to the House of Commons for a debate about censorship. She has long claimed the police unfairly target drill musicians.
