Ghetts has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving after a fatal crash in London.
The rapper, whose real name is Justin Clarke-Samuel, allegedly failed to stop after hitting a 20 year-old man in Redbridge Lane East, Ilford on Saturday October 18 the Met Police said (via BBC News).
He appeared at Stratford Magistrates’ Court on Monday (October 20), initially charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving. The man died the same day in hospital.
Ghetts was remanded into custody and appeared at Barkingside Magistrates’ Court today (Monday October 27) wearing a prison-issue tracksuit, where the indictment changed from causing serious injury to causing death by dangerous driving.
The musician spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth, and address, and was remanded in custody. Ghetts will next appear in court at the Old Bailey on November 24.
Police are appealing for witnesses to the crash to come forward.
The victim has been identified as Nepali student Yubin Tamang, 20, named by his family who have been calling for justice online since his death.
His father posted images to social media of his son, writing: “My little world, all I have left is tears in my hands.” His sister meanwhile posted to TikTok, saying: “Please [get] justice for my brother. We miss you.”
Ghetts was previously nominated for the 2024 Mercury Prize for his album ‘On Purpose With Purpose‘.
“I just create music, man – for the love, for the art,” he told NME at the time. “I love music, I love listening to it, I love creating it. The story with this [album] is about a man finding purpose. The last one [2021’s ‘Conflict Of Interest‘] was about a very conflicted human being, which I still am, but in that conflict we still must find purpose as humans.
“It’s not our purpose to make money, pay bills and die. That’s where I was at. OK, you can make money – you can make a lot of money and live a lavish life – but what are you doing? It might be someone’s purpose just to love. It might be someone’s purpose to connect the dots. It’s something that feels more fulfilling than what we do day to day.”
He also won the Best Male Act at the Mobo Awards in 2021 and received the Mobo Pioneer Award in 2024 for his significant contribution to British black culture.
That same year he appeared in the Netflix series Supacell as the character Craig.