Black the Ripper

Dean West (28 December 1986^[1] – April 2020), better known by his stage name Black the Ripper, was a British rapper, grime emcee, activist, cannabis activist, and entrepreneur from Edmonton, London. He ran his own record label, Dank of England (formerly known as Black Magic Entertainment), which expanded into a clothing line and cannabis accessory company. He was also known for his viral stunts of smoking cannabis in public places, which he hoped would lead to the outcome of legalised cannabis in the United Kingdom.^[2]

West was one of the earliest artists to adopt the grime genre, where he gained recognition from his mixtapes Afro Samurai (2006), Summer Madness (2007), and Holla Black (2007). He was also one of the earliest artists to have been featured on the British urban music channel SB.TV. West released multiple mixtapes series during his career, most notably Outlaw and Black Is Beautiful. He gained mainstream attention whilst campaigning for the legality of cannabis in the United Kingdom in 2015 with the launch of his debut EP Excuse Me Whilst I Kiss Sky. He went on to release two more EPs: In Dank We Trust and Doe or Die before the release of his debut studio album Money Grows on Trees, which was released in August 2018 via his independent label, Dank of England.

On 6 April 2020, West's body was found in the holiday home he was staying in on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. An investigation was opened to determine his cause of death. On 7 July 2020, his family confirmed that the autopsy had shown that his death was due to a heart attack.