A teenager jailed for life for murdering a rival in a gangland attack has been unmasked as a drill rapper who was offered a £150,000 recording contract while in prison awaiting trial.
Jayden O’Neill-Crichlow, 17, who raps as SJ and has millions of YouTube views, was part of a group armed with a sword, knives and a gun that hunted down Kamali Gabbidon-Lynck “like a pack of animals” in Wood Green.
The 19-year-old victim, a father-of-one, was stabbed as he sought refuge in a hairdressers.
His friend Jason Fraser, 20, was stabbed eight times and shot in the buttock but survived.
O’Neill-Crichlow, a former youth footballer, and four other gang members — Sheareem Cookhorn, 21, Tyrell Graham, 18, and 17-year-olds Shane Lyons and Ojay Hamilton — were all jailed for life at the Old Bailey on Monday.
The trial heard that O’Neill-Crichlow is a leading member of drill rap group the OFB collective, and was offered the contract after being arrested on May 16 last year over the February 22 murder.
On June 11, OFB’s YouTube account posted a video for the teenager’s song Youngest In Charge, which includes lyrics about getting his shank [knife] “saucy”, or covered in blood, and the line “I just see an opp [rival], let me take him out” followed by gunshots.
The song, which has more than 10 million views, appears to mock rapper Kelvin Odunyi, 19, who was shot dead outside a Wood Green cinema in 2018.
Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow QC told jurors: “Life, it would appear, has little value to them and is something to be taken away for almost no reason and then to be the subject of cruel and offensive bragging.”
Also in June, an OFB “crib session” hosted by radio DJ Tim Westwood was uploaded to YouTube featuring SJ and other rappers. The video, which remains online, has more three million views and also refers to Mr Odunyi’s death.
After Mr Gabbidon-Lynck’s killers were convicted last month, his mother Melanie called for radio stations and DJs to stop promoting drill rap. She said: “Why is it justifiable for music to be released about children killing one another and celebrating murders?”
The court heard the five killers were affiliated with Tottenham gang the NPK, while the victim and his friend were associated with the WGM gang from Wood Green.
On the night of the murder, the attackers cycled from the Broadwater Farm estate to Wood Green armed with the weapons with the intention of targeting rival gang members.
Cookhorn fired the gun as violence broke out, and Mr Gabbidon-Lynck was fatally stabbed as he tried to save his friend Mr Fraser from being attacked.
O’Neill-Crichlow, Hamilton and Lyons — known as “Sneakz” — were all jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years after being found guilty of murder and GBH with intent.
O’Neill-Crichlow and Hamilton, known as “Osav”, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of a knife. Cookhorn was sentenced to life with at least 28 years in prison after being found guilty of murder, attempted murder and possession of a firearm with intent.
Graham, who had pleaded guilty to knife possession, was given a 25-year minimum sentence after being found guilty of murder and attempted murder.
As the sentence was passed violence erupted in the dock between the killers, leaving a prison guard with a head injury.
Police, security staff and Mr Glasgow, who once represented Great Britain at the Duathlon World Championships, had to restrain a man who jumped down from the public gallery as objects including an umbrella and a seat from the dock were thrown across the court.
Detective Chief Inspector Simon Stancombe said of the killers: “Not content with the damage they had caused that night they then boasted about their murderous exploits in amateurish drill videos.”
He added: “I want to pay tribute to Kamali’s family who throughout this trial have maintained their dignity in very difficult circumstances.”
