67 (rap group)

67 (pronounced six-seven) are a British hip hop collective originally composed of rappers LD,^[2] Monkey, Dimzy, Liquez, ASAP and 67 Sj.^[3] The group has expanded since its inception, with many new members joining. They are best known for their 2016 track "Lets Lurk", and are widely regarded as highly influential on the UK drill scene.^[1] They were nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2016 MOBO Awards.^[4]

67
Also known as	674 OSG^[1]
Origin	Brixton Hill, London, England
Genres	British hip hop UK drill road rap
Years active	2012–present
Labels	6ix 7even
Members	See list
Website	6ix7even.com

The group has been labelled a "criminal gang" by the police, and has had several shows shut down, including their first UK tour after it sold out due to the controversial Form 696.^[5]

History

67 formed in Brixton Hill, South London, and rose to fame in 2014.^[6] They are known as one of the early adopters of the UK drill sound, with them being the first group to gain more mainstream popularity. They are best known for their 2016 track "Lets Lurk" featuring Giggs, whose instrumental was used by Big Shaq in his 2017 parody track "Man's Not Hot".^[7] They saw chart success again in 2017, when the single "Glorious Twelfth" peaked at 77 on the official charts.^[8]

Members

The list below includes confirmed members of 67.^[9]

Current members

• AK^[10]
• ASAP (Malki Martin)^[11]
• Dimzy (Steven Mubama)
• Doggy^[12]
• dopesmoke^[13]
• G.Y (also known as Graveyard)^[14]
• LD (Cassiel Wuta-Ofei; or Scribz^[15])
• Liquez (Melique Garraway)^[16]
• Monkey (Lloyd Acheampong)
• R6 (Richard Ofwemi)^[17]
• Silent^[13]
• 67 Sj (Joshua Amon)
• ST (Siratillah Ford)^[17]
• PR SAD (or simply PR)^[18]
• Y.SJ^[19][20]
• BruckSav (or Brucka)

Former members

• Itch (Chris Kaba; died from a gunshot wound after a Metropolitan Police officer shot him)^[21][22]

Legal issues

Ban from music

In 2014, Scribz was issued an ASBO that banned him from making and performing music for two years.^[23][24] Following this, Scribz began wearing a mask to conceal his identity and took on the alias LD, with his first song as LD being "Live Corn".^[15] After his ASBO came to an end in 2016, he released "Wicked and Bad" as Scribz in which he sent for opposing gangs and revealed that he was LD. In 2017, he was jailed for possession of a knife.^[2][25] The group has been labelled a "criminal gang" by the police,^[26] and had their first UK tour shut down.^[27] In July 2018, Dimzy shared an open letter accusing the police and media of "scapegoating" their music.^[28]

Drug trafficking

In 2018, 67 was identified as running five county lines to neighbouring counties;^[29] 16 affiliates of the group were arrested in July 2019 and sentenced to a total of 61 years.^[30][31] In 2019, LD (Scribz) and ASAP were jailed for 4.5 years each for their involvement in county lines drug dealing;^[32] LD was released in November 2021.^[33]

Controversy

Shooting of Chris Kaba

On 5 September 2022, Chris Kaba, a 24-year-old member and rapper of 67 who was known by his stage-name Itch, Mad Itch or Madix, was shot dead by police in Streatham Hill. Kaba, who had previously been imprisoned for possessing an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence, was driving an Audi Q8, not registered to him, which was followed by an unmarked police car occupied by armed officers.^[34] Police vehicles boxed the car in, but Kaba ignored repeated orders to get out of the vehicle, and was trying to ram the Audi through the roadblock when, according to the IOPC, police fired a single round, striking him.^[35] He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he died of his injuries just after 12:00 am the following day.^[36] According to the IOPC, the Audi was linked to a "firearms incident" a few days before through automatic number-plate recognition, and "no non-police firearms were found" either in the car or at the scene. Kaba's family called for a homicide investigation into his death and for information about whether any weapons were found.^{[37][38][39][40]}

Members of his family said that he would not have been shot dead if he were not black. Kaba's cousin Jefferson Bosela, said "I've put it out there he wasn't perfect… but regardless of that nobody deserves to be killed by the police unless there is an imminent or direct threat to the public."^[37] Charity group Inquest released a statement which read "dad-to-be Chris’ loved ones said they are worried his life was cut short due to his skin colour."^[41] In response to the shooting, a small crowd of about 40 protestors gathered outside Brixton police station on 8 September 2022, demanding justice for Kaba's death.^[42] Further protests took place outside New Scotland Yard in which over 300 people, including former Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn, attended.^[43][44] Sarah-Jane Mee mistook the protest for the gathering of people marking the death of the Queen; Sky News later issued an apology regarding this.^[45]

On 21 September the family of the deceased viewed the police body-worn camera footage of the incident. Having seen it, Bosela said that they would be taking a step back in their protest about the death.^[46]

Awards and nominations

• Nominated for Best Newcomer at the 2016 MOBO Awards.^[4]

Discography

Mixtapes

• Dimzy - A Glass of Water (2013)
• LD, Monkey, Dimzy - 6.7 (2015)
• In Skengs We Trust (2015)
• Lets Lurk (2016)
• Glorious Twelfth (2017)
• The 6 (2018)
• Dimzy - Dim The Lights (2018)
• Monkey -Wild N Loose (2019)
• R6 & ST - Search & Destroy (2018)
• Quarantined (2020)
• Liquez - Released Under Investigation (2020)
• Dimzy - A Glass of Water 2 (2021)
• dopesmoke & Silent - Hillside (2021)

EPs

• Dimzy and Swift - Smoke and Water (2022)

References

1. {{Cite
   • SAD
   web|last=Dazed|date=2021-02-26|title=LD (67): the UK drill figurehead speaks from prison|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/52039/1/ld-67-uk-drill-figurehead-whos-watching-prison-interview%7Caccess-date=2022-01-22%7Cwebsite=Dazed%7Clanguage=en}}
2. Thapar, Ciaran (24 October 2018). "67's LD on the state of uk drill music". i-D. Vice Media. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
3. Brosnan, Laura (16 June 2016). "Meet 67, The Rawest Crew In UK Rap". Complex. Complex Media Inc. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
4. "MOBO Awards 2016: See The Full Nominations List". Capital XTRA. Global Group. 21 September 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
5. "67 on the obstacles they've overcome to release new mixtape 'The 6'". NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM. 6 August 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
6. Martin, Liam. "67 Biography". Allmusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
7. Thapar, Ciaran (2 July 2018). "J Hus, Knife Crime and the Way the UK Mainstream Consumes Music". Noisey. Vice Media. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
8. "67". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
9. ""Drill Music Is Being Scapegoated" - 67's Dimzy Pens Must-Read Open Letter In The Latest YO! MTV Raps | MTV UK". www.mtv.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
10. W, Courtney (17 May 2021). "67's AK Drops Cruddy 'Warm Up Sessions' Freestyle". grmdaily.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
11. Herring, Naomi (9 December 2019). "Two rappers nominated for a MOBO award have been jailed for drug dealing including in Newbury". readingchronicle.co.uk. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
12. Davey, Jacob (9 April 2018). "67 Unleash Hard-Hitting New Track, "Grouchy"". versus.uk.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
13. Mensah, Kafui (2 September 2021). "67's Dopesmoke & Silent go back to back on new heater "S.O.G.O"". grmdaily.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
14. W, Courtney (2 June 2021). "67's R6 & G.Y Link Up To Drop Joint 'Plugged In' Session With Fumez The Engineer". grmdaily.com. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
15. "What is UK drill? A primer on the rising British rap sound". Red Bull. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
16. "Man in south London fatally stabbed in 'drill rap' rivalry, court told". Sky News. 1 June 2020. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
17. "67 Youngers R6, ST And Itch Make Their Mark With New Track "Numerous Times"". trenchtrenchtrench.com. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
18. W, Courtney (21 January 2021). "67's PR SAD Joins Fumez The Engineer For Latest 'Plugged In' Session". grmdaily.com. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
19. "Y.SJ (67) | Loose Screw (Prod. By Carns Hill) [Music Video]: SBTV | OSM Vision". 22 January 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
20. ago, Prodizzle·VIDEOS·1 year (29 October 2018). "Y.SJ (67) "Focused" Video". HWING. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
21. Davis, Margaret (6 September 2022). "Man shot dead by police 'was due to become a father'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
22. "Chris Kaba: Man shot dead by police in Streatham named". BBC News. 6 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
23. Walker, Joe (29 November 2016). "Beautiful South: 67 and RAY BLK on their London". Clash. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
24. Dymoke, Alex (25 August 2017). "67 interview: This is not a gang. This is a logo. This is a company. This is a brand". Evening Standard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
25. . Metropolitan Police. 6 November 2017. Archived from the original on 2 January 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
26. McQuaid, Ian (4 December 2016). "The 20 best grime and UK rap tracks of 2016". FACT. The Vinyl Factory. Retrieved 16 December 2018.
27. Bassett, Jordan (6 August 2018). ""They want to keep us trapped": drill group 67 on the obstacles they've overcome to release vital new mixtape 'The 6'". NME. TI Media. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
28. Kameir, Rawiya (24 July 2018). "67 on police targeting of U.K. drill music: "It's not right to blame or alienate one music genre"". The Fader. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
29. Mohdin, Aamna (26 July 2019). "16 sentenced after south-east England 'county lines' drug sting". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
30. O'Hagan, Andrew (19 August 2021). "County lines: the exploitation of vulnerable members of society". Forensic Research & Criminology International Journal. 9 (2): 47–57. ISSN 2469-2794. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
31. Gammie, Joe; Davis, Margaret; Peracha, Qasim (28 July 2019). "How a South London gang supplied drugs across the South East". getwestlondon. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
32. Thompson, Harry (9 December 2019). "Croydon musician jailed for county-lines drug supply". Eastlondonlines. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
33. Powell, Jon (24 November 2021). "67's LD celebrates his "First Day Out" with new visual". revolt.tv. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
34. "Statement read out at opening of inquest into the death of Chris Kaba | Independent Office for Police Conduct".
35. Evans, Martin; Perkins, Liz (7 September 2022). "Police shoot dead drill rapper Chris Kaba after car chase in south London". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
36. McCann, Sarah (7 September 2022). "Chris Kaba: who was 67 rapper Madix shot dead by police in Streatham Hill?". NationalWorld. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
37. "Chris Kaba: No firearm found at scene of fatal police shooting". BBC News. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
38. Woode, David (8 September 2022). "Family of rapper Chris Kaba have questions over police shooting". The Times. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
39. Howie, Michael; Salisbury, Josh (7 September 2022). "Chris Kaba: Family of London rapper shot dead by armed police demand murder probe". Evening Standard. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
40. Baynes, Chris (7 September 2022). "Chris Kaba: Black man shot dead by police was unarmed, watchdog says as family demand murder probe". The Independent. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
41. "Streatham police shooting: Family of Chris Kaba demand criminal investigation". Inquest. 7 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
42. "Protesters call for 'justice' for Chris Kaba outside London police station". 8 September 2022.
43. Keogh, Glen. "Chris Kaba shooting: Jeremy Corbyn joins protest against 'inherently racist' police".
44. "'Chris Kaba. Say his name!' Hundreds protest after black man is shot dead by police".
45. "Sky News apologises for report mistaking protest for royal crowds". TheGuardian.com. 11 September 2022.
46. "Chris Kaba family views police body-cam footage". BBC News. 21 September 2022.