Black the Ripper Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Black the Ripper, the grime rapper and cannabis activist, has died at 32. The rapper, whose real name was Dean West, had been on the island of Montserrat in the Caribbean around the time of his death. Link Up TV in Montserrat was the first to report on West’s death.

West was born to parents of Guyanese and Montserratians descent in the north London suburb of Edmonton. He first hit London’s burgeoning rap scene in the mid-2000s. West’s early hits included “My Minds Battle” and “Can’t Control It,” which were both released in 2006.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. West Was Last Active on His Instagram Page in August 2019

Instagram/Black the Ripper

On his Instagram profile, West went by the moniker, Ital Samson. The last photo West uploaded to his page was taken in August 2019.

Black The Ripper x Popcaan ft Chip, Shorty & Frisco | Weed Is My Best Friend [Music Video]: SBTVBlack The Ripper links up with a few Grime bosses to cover the Popcaan anthem ‘Weed Is My Best Friend’! The visuals on this one are phenomenal, boasting vibrant and trippy colours. —- Make sure to subscribe & never miss a video! http://bit.ly/NeverMissSBTV SBTV is the only place you need to be going to get the best in music, gaming, sport, comedy, fashion and business. Based in London, SBTV provides a platform to discover and break emerging artists, enjoy your favourite acts and unearth incredible talent. We’re constantly bringing you the exclusives so make sure to follow us on Facebook & Twitter to be in the loop with who we’ve been filming with! If you would like to feature on the channel, please get in touch with us via our ‘Contact Us’ page: http://www.sbtv.co.uk/contact-us/ Always looking for new talent to feature on the channel. Share. Build. Teach. Vibes. —- ► Follow SBTV Twitter – http://twitter.com/SBTVonline Instagram – http://instagram.com/SBTVonline FaceBook – http://facebook.com/online.SBTV Website – http://www.SBTV.co.uk SoundCloud – http://www.soundcloud.com/SBTVmusic ► Check Black The Ripper https://twitter.com/BlackTheRipper https://soundcloud.com/italsamson https://www.facebook.com/BLACK-THE-RIPPER-25251142447/ ► Check Popcaan https://twitter.com/PopcaanMusic ► Check Chip https://twitter.com/OfficialChip ► Check Shorty https://twitter.com/shortybbk ► Check Frisco https://twitter.com/BigFris ► Watch more music videos on SBTV Music Videos 0-200 – http://bit.ly/SBTVMusicVideos0-200 Music Videos 200-400 – http://bit.ly/SBTVMusicVideos200-400 Music Videos – 400-600 – http://bit.ly/SBTVMusicVideos400-600 —– Thanks for watching!2016-08-07T15:15:00.000Z

On the day of his death, Link Up posted a photo of West to their Instagram story. The photo showed West in Montserrat. The photo was dated April 1.

2. In One Act of Defiance, West Recorded Himself Smoking Cannabis in a Crowded Supermarket

VideoVideo related to black the ripper dead: 5 fast facts you need to know2020-04-06T22:33:42-04:00

In recent years, West became more popular for his pro-cannabis activism than for his music. To celebrate April 20, the pro-cannabis day, in 2016, West recorded himself with others smoking marijuana inside of the London Eye tourist attraction in the English capital. A year later, West recorded himself smoking cannabis during a shopping trip to British chain store, Asda, in the Colindale neighborhood of London.

Following the stunt, an Asda company spokesperson said, via The Huffington Post, “Asda is a family-friendly retailer and we expect all our customers to abide by the law and recognize the strict no-smoking policy we have in place across our stores.”

In another famous incident, West went to a McDonald’s restaurant with marijuana plants. West told the assembled crowd that his plants were not as unhealthy as anything on the menu in the fast-food chain.

3. West Said He Lived His Life as if Cannabis Was Legal

A November 2017 Reddit thread speculated as to whether or not West had been a victim of “an MI6/CIA mind control program.” Commenters on the thread went on to complain about the quality of West’s music since he had become a prominent pro-cannabis activist.

West told Vice in August 2018 that he lived his life as if marijuana was legal. In the interview, West referred to the drug as being “basically legal.” West then stated his belief that authorities were in the “stone-age” when it came to legalization. West commented on the health risks of cigarettes and alcohol compared with marijuana.

West sold marijuana-related paraphernalia and souvenirs through his brand, Dank of England. In March 2017, a Dank of England event was shut down by the English police. A report from the time said that nobody was arrested following the raid.

4. West Wanted the United Kingdom to Adopt a Colorado-style Cannabis Policy

Instagram/Black the Ripper

West said in an August 2019 interview with The Cambs Times about his feelings regarding alcohol saying, “Cannabis has medicinal and economic benefits. Alcohol might be legal but people can die, their health is messed up big time on alcohol. Today we had a whole afternoon of people outside the shop no troubles at all. Had they been drunk it is likely there would have been fighting, people being sick, arguments. It would have been bad. But you don’t get that with weed smokers.”

During that interview, West said that he wanted to see the English government’s cannabis policy become similar to that of Colorado’s. West said that he had recently traveled back to the United Kingdom from the Rocky Mountain state. West commented on his amazement at how cannabis was sold in the state with any “taboo.”

5. Some of English Hip-Hop’s Biggest Names Have Been Paying Tribute to West Online

VideoVideo related to black the ripper dead: 5 fast facts you need to know2020-04-06T22:33:42-04:00

As news of West’s sad passing spread, some of the biggest names in English rap, as well as some of West’s biggest fans, paid tribute to the 32-year-old on social media. Here are some of the most poignant tributes to West’s life:

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