Rapper Ghetts, real name Justin Clarke-Samuel, is facing further charges of dangerous driving on the day he allegedly killed a young man in a hit-and-run collision.
The 41-year-old grime artist appeared at The Old Bailey in London via videolink today from Pentonville prison wearing a plain, grey short-sleeved T-shirt, as he was accused of causing death by dangerous driving.
The musician and Netflix actor allegedly failed to stop after his BMW hit 20-year-old Yubin Tamang on Redbridge Lane, Ilford, at around 11.33pm on October 18.
Tamang died on October 20.
Clarke-Samuel was initially charged with a single count of causing Tamang’s death by dangerous driving.
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He now faces two further charges of dangerous driving before and after the crash on October 18.
It is alleged he was driving dangerously in Tavistock Place and other roads in Camden, north London.
After the collision, it is alleged Clarke-Samuel continued to drive dangerously in Worcester Crescent, Redbridge, on the journey back to his home in King’s Avenue, Woodford, east London.
Police attended the defendant’s address in Woodford early the next day.
The black BMW, allegedly registered and insured in the defendant’s name, was said to have been significantly damaged.
Today the rapper spoke to confirm his name as members of Tamang’s family watched in the court, having travelled from Nepal.
Adjourning the case, Judge Nigel Lickley KC said: ‘I’m not going to ask you to enter your pleas today, but I will require you to enter your pleas on December 8, that is the next hearing.’
The judge said Clarke-Samuel could appear in court by videolink again next time as he remanded him in custody.
Tamang was an only child and his parents had sent him to the UK to receive an education.
Clarke-Samuel first appeared in Stratford Magistrates’ Court on October 20, initially charged with causing serious injury by dangerous driving, until Tamang’s death changed the indictment.
The performer, who played Glastonbury last year, has featured in tracks alongside Skepta, Stormzy and Ed Sheeran, racking up millions of plays on Spotify with tracks including One Take, Skengman and IC3.
Yubin, a keen musician and hip-hop fan himself, had been ‘a good student’ studying at University of Roehampton when he was struck.
His father posted a tribute of pictures of Yubin growing up in Nepal. He wrote: ‘My little world, all I have left is tears in my hands.’
David, who lived with Yubin in east London, told Metro: ‘He was my brother. I can barely speak. I am so upset. He was a good person, a very good person.’
Clarke-Samuel released his debut studio album, Rebel with a Cause, in 2014, which he then followed up with Conflict of Interest in 2021.
He toured abroad with Top Boy star and fellow rapper Kano, and was a member of East London British grime group Nasty Crew.
In 2021, he won the best male act at the Mobo Awards and has also been nominated for a Mercury Prize, and last year received the Mobo Pioneer Award for his significant contribution to British black culture.
The rapper also co-starred in the Netflix superhero drama Supacell, which debuted on the streamer in 2024.
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