Fans swarm rapper Digga D as he films music video in Piccadilly Circus
‘As if Digga D just rolled up!’: Shocked fans swarm British drill rapper as he films new music video in Piccadilly Circus – with supporters scrambling up famous London monument to join him
- The 20-year-old rapper reportedly has more than 4 million views on YouTube
- He invited fans to join him and rapper Ivorian Doll on the Eros statue in West End
- Read: Anger over BBC documentary on drill rapper jailed for a machete attack
Fans of British drill rapper Digga D flocked to Piccadilly Circus earlier this afternoon, shutting down a famous London monument.
The 20-year-old rapper reportedly has a large fan base and more than 4 million views on YouTube.
Hundreds were seen climbing the Eros statue today after the rapper posted on social media that he would be filming a music video there.
It is thought that he was filming for the unreleased track ‘Grey Tracky’ with fellow female British rapper Ivorian Doll.
Met Police confirmed to MailOnline there were no significant incidents.
Digga D (pictured centre) invited his fan base to join him in Piccadilly Circus in London earlier this afternoon where he filmed a new music video
Hundreds of fans were seen climbing the Eros statue today in support of the 20-year-old rapper
The rapper was joined by female British rapper Ivorian Doll to film for the track ‘Grey Tracky’
Fans took to Twitter and told followers of their shock, with one tweeting: ‘As if I’m walking round Central and Digga D just rolls up in Piccadilly Circus.’
Another said: ‘Digga D waking up to shut down the west end, he might have the best marketing team.’
Meanwhile a third claimed that the police did not seem impressed.
Fans appear to have been invited to join Digga D and Ivorian Doll on a TikTok post which said: ‘Grey tracky music video on Saturday, Piccadilly Circus, 1pm.’
Digga D, whose birth name is Rhys Herbert, has caused significant controversy in recent years.
He holds convictions for gang-related crime and is subject to a police order that controls his musical output.
Herbert left prison in May 2020 after being sentenced to two and a half years for his part in a machete brawl in front of shoppers in central London.
Anti-knife campaigners also criticised the BBC for producing a documentary about a violent rapper in which he complains about his struggle to make music that glorifies gang attacks.
Digga D (left), whose birth name is Rhys Herbert, is a drill rap artist and Ivorian Doll (right) is a female rapper
Fans appear to have been invited to join Digga D and Ivorian Doll on a TikTok post
BBC promotional material for the programme at the time stated: ‘Police say they target drill because it promotes and causes violence, but the genre’s supporters call this censorship and say that the art simply reflects real life. Digga’s situation, and his ongoing story, embodies this dilemma.’
Drill is a form of rap glorifying violence and criminality that originated in Chicago in 2010 and has become popular in Britain.
A Metropolitan Police order bans Herbert from rapping about rivals or specific attacks, although he can refer to violence generally.
But he has hidden apparent coded references to attacks in songs, and the name of his new group, The Conspiracy Gang Members, is thought to be a ‘tribute’ to members of his 1011 drill gang arrested in 2018 on their way to attack rivals.
In 2018 five members of the 1011 gang, including Digga D, were jailed and banned from making violent videos after they were caught with machetes and baseball bats on the way to attack a rival gang in 2017.
They had got in a black car and drove towards the postcode area of their rival’s, the ’12 World Gang’ from Shepherd’s Bush, intent on revenge.
But police swooped down on them and found an armoury of deadly weapons.
A judge banned the five young men from mentioning death or injury in their songs or on social media and ordered them to inform police before they record or perform songs.
Met Police attended the scene in London’s busy centre but no significant incidents occurred
British rapper Digga D surrounded by fans as he films a music video on the Eros statue
Digga D, whose birth name is Rhys Herbert, has caused significant controversy in recent years
In 2019 cyber criminals broke into the Metropolitan Police Twitter account and posted tweets calling for the release of Digga D from jail.
In a now-deleted tweet the hackers wrote: ‘FREE DIGGA D ON FOENEM GANG.’
The account, which is normally only used to update the public on ongoing policing matters, had posted tweets that said: ‘‘F*** the police’ and ‘What you gonna do … phone the police?’
‘Drill’ music, a hip-hop subgenre, is of concern to communities as it is thought to drive the feuding gang war in London.
Hundreds of videos on YouTube feature UK rappers threatening and provoking people from rival areas.
To ‘drill’ means to fight or scrap and the violent lyrics focus on gang life, drugs, guns and killing.
In one video viewed nearly three million times, Digga D boasts about having to bleach his knife after using it to attack someone.
In another, entitled ‘Mummy’s Kitchen’, rappers Loski and Mayski, who are thought to be Londoners, boast about taking a blade from the family home.
In the videos, which are filmed across the city, performers take care to ensure their faces are covered.
The link with fatal attacks committed against young Londoners is made clear under the videos on YouTube, where commentators speculate about which groups were responsible.
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