RIP Black the Ripper- UK musician, entrepreneur and weed Icon

Although this talented and outspoken advocate was taken far too soon, his legacy lives on in the music and businesses he created. Dean West AKA “Black the Ripper” was a rapper, cannabis activist and an entrepreneur hailing from Edmonton, London. One of the earliest artists to emerge on the Grime scene he gained early recognition for his mixtapes Afro Samurai (2006) and Summer Madness (2007) and was one of the earliest artists to star on UK urban music channel SBTV.   West went on to release multiple mixtape series’ over his career including 2 volumes of the “DOE OR DIE” series with Ironbarz, a 3rd volume of which is due for release through Dank Of England Records soon.

West also released his own original material, working alongside and inspiring such big names in the industry as Chip, Ghetts, Lowkey, Wiley, Frisco and DotRotten amongst many others, building up a massively influential back catalogue of music in the process. Using music to express his love of cannabis and raise awareness of the battle for legality in the UK was a popular theme for West. His eighth mixtape released in 2014 was entitled "Married to Marijuana" comprising of 13 tracks expressing his love for smoking weed and a "weed remix' of "Uber everywhere" called "Light up everywhere" in 2016. As well as voicing his views on cannabis and its laws through music, West also channelled his energies and activism through enterprise, when in 2015 alongside co-founder "Screechtree" he founded "Dank Of England" (DOE). Dank is a record company and cannabis lifestyle brand that gained popularity and notoriety quickly thanks to Wests activism stunts, which soon went viral.

National recognition was achieved in November 2016 when West filmed a music video on the London Eye at 4.20 pm where he was filmed openly smoking cannabis in public. The aim being to push for UK legalisation. West repeated similar stunts in his local Asda store and on an Easy Jet flight, for which he received a lifetime ban.  No surprise that with his musical background and the infamy gained from his pro-cannabis activism, DOE was a massive hit with one newspaper referring to it as "the most pro-cannabis and British a company can get". West was also featured in a Vice documentary "How Weed laws are failing the UK" in 2016. Full of potential and with a long career still ahead of him it was a huge shock when on 4th April 2020 it was reported that Dean West "Black The Ripper" had died suddenly whilst on Holiday in Montserrat. 

A later autopsy revealed that the cause of death was a heart attack. West was only 32 at the time. Tributes from the UK hip hop and grime scene and the broader spectrum of UK music poured in from long time fans and collaborators including Lethal Bizzle, Krept, Skepta, Nadia Rose and Ambush.  Several tracks were released in honour of West; with the artist Chip releasing "0420" featuring a sample of Black The Rippers single "Missing you. The track was released on 20/04/20, a nod to the cannabis culture of which West was so deeply a part of. This legacy continues to pave the way for others to follow in his footsteps both musically, and in trying to push for real change in UK cannabis legislation. Black the Rippers' music lives on to inspire and influence others, as does his activism. Dank Of England also continues to grow and evolve, as the biggest and most successful pro-cannabis lifestyle brand in the UK.

The success story just keeps on growing, with the exciting news that the first “Dank Of England Cannabis Social Club” will be opening in Barcelona this year! With plans afoot for a 2nd venue in Amsterdam! Now solely in the hands of Screechtree, Blacks’ name and legacy is and always will be remembered through the DOE movement and the ethos he helped to build will continue to be pushed to a whole new high. RIP Dean West-Black The Ripper.