Black the Ripper

Biography

Dean West (28 December 1986 – April 2020), better known by his stage name Black the Ripper, was a British rapper, grime emcee, activist, cannabis activist, and entrepreneur from Edmonton, London. He ran his own record label, Dank of England (formerly known as Black Magic Entertainment), which expanded into a clothing line and cannabis accessory company. He was also known for his viral stunts of smoking cannabis in public places, which he hoped would lead to the outcome of legalised cannabis in the United Kingdom. West was one of the earliest artists to adopt the grime genre, where he gained recognition from his mixtapes Holla Black (2006), Summer Madness (2007) and Afro Samurai (2008). He was also one of the earliest artists to have been featured on the British urban music channel SB.TV. West released multiple mixtapes series during his career, most notably Black Is Beautiful and Outlaw.

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