“In the 11 years since Chicken Shop Date launched, the show has welcomed guests with shocking criminal backgrounds.”, — write: www.dailymail.co.uk
Yet in the 11 years since the series launched, the YouTube show – created and hosted by Amelia Dimoldenberg – has also welcomed guests with shocking criminal backgrounds.
This week, rapper and Netflix star Ghetts pleaded guilty to killing a student in a hit-and-run crash that threw his victim up to 70ft in the air.
Ghetts, real name Justin Clarke-Samuel, was the first guest on the internet show, which sees Amelia, 31, take stars on ‘dates’ to chicken shops in London.
The 2014 interview now has 1.4 million views and the pair, who are good friends, celebrated the 10th anniversary of Chicken Shop Date last year by filming a second episode.
During the second ‘date’ – a first in the history of the show – Amelia credited Ghetts, 41, with inspiring her to keep the series going.
She confessed: ‘If I hadn’t had you as my first guest, someone who was so credible and talented and naturally funny, then I don’t know if I would have carried on doing episodes.’
Now Ghetts, a British MC who also starred in Netflix’s Supacell, has made headlines after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving.
The musician hit Yubin Tamang while driving his black BMW M5 in Ilford, east London on the night of October 18, and failed to stop after the incident at 11.33pm.
Tamang, a 20-year-old from Nepal who loved studying in the UK and hip hop music, was flung between 60ft and 70ft in the air when Ghetts hit him. He died in hospital two days after the crash.
During a court appearance on Monday, Ghetts admitted causing death by dangerous driving as well as dangerous driving before the incident, on Tavistock Place and roads in the boroughs of Islington, Camden and Hackney.
He has not yet entered pleas to causing death by careless driving whilst over the alcohol limit or a further dangerous driving charge. Ghetts accepts he had drunk Hennessy cognac and Coke at 9.30pm.
Ghetts has been told that it is ‘inevitable’ that he will be jailed for causing Mr Tamang’s death.
He remains remanded in custody ahead of sentencing likely to take place on February 12.
Ghetts’ crime makes him the latest in a long line of Chicken Shop Date stars who have fallen foul of the law.
Amelia raised eyebrows in 2016 when she interviewed Monkey (Lloyd Acheampong), Dimzy (Steven Mubama) and LD (Cassiel Wuta-Ofe) from the drill group 67.
The 67, once championed by Tim Westwood and even nominated for a MOBO Award, are linked to shootings, stabbings and murders – as well as blackmail, extortion and running county lines drugs networks across the Home Counties.
While Monkey and Dimzy have not been linked to any criminal activity, LD, also known as Scribz, had his career disrupted for several years after being jailed for drugs offences.
LD – real name Cassiel Wuta-Ofei – and Malki Martin, who goes by ASAP, were sentenced to a total of nine years behind bars for operating a drugs network that shipped heroin and crack cocaine to the Home Counties.
But his career was disrupted for several years after being jailed for drugs offences.
The pair, both central to the rap group 67, were stopped while driving a Mercedes A Class in Basingstoke, Hampshire in March 2018.
Inner London Crown Court heard that the pair had prior convictions for possession with intent to supply crack cocaine and heroin from 2013.
LD would later insist that he was surprised when he was found guilty in a video filmed from the back of a Rolls Royce that picked him up after he was released from prison.
He also denied that drill rappers or The 67 were connected to violence and organised crime.
LD, who famously wears a silver mask after police tried to ban him from YouTube, claimed that he and his friends are ‘from the gutter’ and were looking at ways to make money from music.
During his chat with Amelia, LD revealed that being part of the 67 would often be enough to sway ladies into dating him.
In 2017, Amelia joked around with rapper Suspect on an episode of Chicken Shop Date, questioning whether his name alluded to being a suspect of a crime.
The following year, however, Suspect – real name Tariq Monteiro – was named as a suspect in a murder case when Southampton youth footballer Alex Smith was stabbed to death in north London.
Suspect, 25, and Siyad Mohamud, 27, ran after the teenager down Great Portland Street on foot before stabbing him to death ‘with a foot-long machete’ in Munster Square near Camden.
Alex had become a target of a gang-based feud between two gangs, known as ‘The Cumbo Gang’ and ‘The Agar Grove Gang’, in North London, the Old Bailey heard.
After his death, the killers went on to post a video online celebrating his death before fleeing to Kenya, evading a Met Police investigation.
The pair were arrested in the country’s capital Nairobi following a manhunt and were flown back to the UK.
Once in Kenya, Suspect proceeded to get married and have a son. His wife and child still remain there, the court heard.
Suspect, and Mohamud, known as the name Swavey, were unanimously convicted of murder by the Old Baily jury following a five-week trial.
Suspect was sentenced to life behind bars, serving a minimum of 24 years, while Mohamud was sentenced to life, serving a minimum of 23 years.
Amelia enjoyed a flirty ‘date’ with Headie One in 2018 after fans begged her to get the drill artist on the show.
The following year, just days before Headie One was due to play Glastonbury he was charged with possession of a lock knife and obstructing police after being stopped and searched in Tottenham.
He was sentenced to six months in prison for possession of a lock knife and released in April 2020 after serving four months of the sentence.
Headie One – real name Irving Adjei – honed his music while serving time, spending hours in his cell conjuring up the lyrics and rhymes for Edna – which reached Number 1 on the UK Albums Chart.
He first served a prison term at the age of 17 and, after he was caught during a country lines drug deal at Aberdeen station with nearly £30,000 of cocaine and heroin in 2014, he was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Yet he revealed his most recent incarceration had made him see that if he ‘continued in this trap, it would have me for ever.’
In an interview with The Times, Headie One, who grew up on the notorious Broadwater Farm estate in North London, mused that the prison system was designed to ‘break you down mentally’.
He added: ‘You have to be a very strong person to come out with a positive outlook. i came to a point where I recognised that if I continued in this trap, it would have me for ever.’
In 2020, Amelia invited Yung Filly to appear on Chicken Shop Date alongside fellow rapper Chunkz.
Last year, Yung Filly – real name Andrés Felipe Valencia Barrientos – was accused of raping and assaulting a woman in his Perth hotel room after performing at Bar1 Nightclub in the suburb of Hillarys on September 29.
He denied three counts of assault occasioning bodily harm, one of strangulation and four counts of sexual penetration without consent earlier this year, but is yet to enter pleas for two further charges of sexual penetration without consent.
The rapper’s case is next listed for mention at Perth District Court on February 5, with a trial listed to begin at the same court on July 20.
While on bail, the YouTuber was charged with reckless driving after allegedly driving 158km/h (98mph) on a Perth highway where the speed limit is 100km/h (62mph), on November 17, local Australian media reported.
Earlier this year, Yung Filly faced a fresh accusation of raping a separate tourist in a hotel in Magaluf after he performed at an event in the Spanish party town last summer.
The woman, believed to be aged around 20, reported that the rapper had forced himself on her to police in Britain – who passed on details of the allegation to counterparts in Spain.
The woman is understood to have sparked a Spanish court probe after reporting Barrientos to a UK police force a few weeks after returning to Britain following the conclusion of her summer holiday.
Digga D has been dubbed the most ‘hated rapper in London’ as a result of his many feuds with fellow drill rappers.
Yet the musician, real name Rhys Herbert, managed to charm Amelia when he appeared on Chicken Shop Date in 2020.
Digga, as he is called by his fans, has multiple convictions for gang-related crime and drugs with friends claiming he had earned up to £3million from rapping before he was jailed earlier this year. He told a court last year that he began smoking drugs aged 12.
His use of rap songs and videos to goad rivals and glorify violence has seen him dubbed ‘London’s most hated rapper’ online due to the number of enemies he has.
Digga, from west London, was even subject to a ultra-rare police order that controls his musical output because it was linked to violence.
On one occasion he was almost blinded when stabbed in the eye by a rival during a previous spell in jail for a machete attack. On another occasion someone tried to kill him by opening fire on him in his car, Daily Mail understands.
Digga D said to The Guardian in 2023 in regards to his stints in prison: ‘When I was younger, I wouldn’t always listen … If I’m the type of teenager that likes trouble, I don’t wanna hear about anyone who is trying to step away from it.
‘Unless they’re in my face, like: “Brudda, wake up, this is not a joke!” So instead of telling them: don’t do this, don’t do that, I’d say: “OK, cool, if you are going to do this, then you need to know what comes with the consequences. Or try to avoid certain situations. If someone draws you out, and you wanna go and fight, think about it first.” Every action has a reaction.’
In January this year Digga D was jailed for three years and 11 months for selling 45 kilos of cannabis after helping import the illegal drug from the US.
The court heard Digga had six previous convictions for 13 offences, including possessing an offensive weapon and violent disorder for which he was sentenced to 30 months youth detention in March 2020.
A year after Digga D appeared on Chicken Shop Date, one of his sworn enemies Fredo was invited onto the show.
During the 2023 interview he admitted to having a ‘lot of toxic traits’ but would not elaborate when pressed by Amelia.
Fredo is a member of The Harrow Road Boys gang, with several members of the group arrested for plotting to gun down Digga D.
The Harrow Road Boys wreaked havoc in the Mozart Estate ‘and beyond’ as they engaged in a tit-for-tat postcode war with the CGM (Cherish God More) gang, which would eventually see them attempt to hunt down and shoot rival rapper Digga.
The war between the feuding gangs began when a member of the HRB, which flooded the streets of west London with drugs and enlisted children to expand their operation, was shot for entering the rival gang’s territory.
Their bloody feud escalated to Jayvon Tison, also known as Lil Dotz, ‘led’ the search for the drill rapper, and sending out a list of rival gang members to target after his brother Daneche was shot in the heart outside a block of flats in west Kilburn.
This August, seven members of the gang – including Jayvon- were jailed for a total of 116 years for conspiracy to possess firearms with the intent to danger life, for smuggling phones into London prisons, and other drug offences.
Fredo – real name Marvin William Bailey – was also named as a conspirator in the trial. However, he failed to appear, with the court being told he is believed to be living abroad.
At their sentencing on August 18, Judge Marcus Tregilgas–Davey said the gang was ‘involved in a long running and deadly rivalry with CGM including ‘a long series of shootings and violent reprisals.’
He added: ‘The rivalry was further fuelled by tension between prominent members of the HRB CGM gangs, Fredo, and Digga D.’
In 2021, Amelia invited drill star Tion Wayne onto the show for a ‘date’.
Tion, whose real name is Dennis Junior Odunwo, was born in Edmonton, north London, and began his rise to fame in 2010 after posting videos of his songs on YouTube.
In March 2017, he was involved in a brawl after performing at a nightclub in Bristol.
The incident was not said to be gang-related, but began when a group of people who had been banned from entry then waited outside after the event.
Tion was jailed for 16 months for stamping on a man’s head, which was caught on CCTV.
He appeared to reference the incident in his new music, rapping: ‘They played back the CCTV / When I banged him, man, my defence said “Jesus” ’.
Reflecting on his prison stint, Tion told The Guardian in 2021: ‘People might look at me and think: “This guy’s a bad guy”, but they ain’t been in the positions I’ve been in.
‘You know when you’re backed into a corner? It’s like people who are in a war. It’s gonna bring out a side of them that’s not really them.”
‘I feel like they made an example of me. I had like 14 co-defendants and I’m the only one that went [to] jail, because I was the headline. [Police] don’t want us to win, they want us to go to jail.’
Also known as T Wizzy, London-born Wayne is best known for his 2021 hit Body, alongside Russ Millions.
The first drill song to go to No 1 in the official UK charts, it sparked concerns about its violent lyrics and references to ‘shanks’, slang for knives.
When he appeared on Chicken Shop Date in 2022, Bandokay boasted of his wealth of fame, claiming he gifted his crew Rolex watches as treats.
Now his luxury possessions are of no use to Bandokay – real name Kemani Duggan – as he is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.
The drill rapper son of Mark Duggan, whose death sparked riots in London when he was gunned down by police, was jailed after he kept a pistol for his ‘protection.’
Bandokay confessed to being in possession of 7.62mm Tokarev calibre Zastava Arms model M57 self-loading pistol.
He also admitted to owning 22 rounds of ammunition with intent to cause fear of violence.
Bandokay had earlier admitted simple possession of the gun and ammunition without a firearm certificate between 19 February 2023 and 21 March 2023.
The Old Bailey heard Bandokay carried the weapon in order to scare off any potential attackers who might try and assault him because of his rapping fame.
The Zastava Arms model 57 was the standard service pistol of the Yugoslav People’s Army from 1961 until the early 1990s.
Bandokay was described in court as a ‘high-ranking’ member of the Original Farm Boys (OFB) gang in North London.