Skengdo x AM

Skengdo x AM, whose real names are Terrell Daniel Doyley and Joshua Malinga, respectively, are a British hip hop duo from Brixton, London. They are both members of the UK drill group and alleged gang, 410,[3][4][5][6] which is known to have conflict with neighbouring Harlem Spartans, based in Kennington. The duo gained some media attention in 2019 where they were handed a suspended jail sentence due to performing a song that police alleged encouraged gang violence.[7][8][4][9]

Skengdo x AM
OriginBrixton, London, England
Genres
Years active2014-present
Labels
Member of410
MembersSkengdo (Terrell Daniel Doyley)[2]
AM (Joshua Malinga)

Skengdo x AM have sold-out tours in the UK, performed at Reading and Leeds Festival, and topped the iTunes hip-hop charts.[10][11]

History

In 2017, Skengdo x AM released his debut mixtape, 2Bunny.[12][11] In 2018, the pair collaborated with Chicago drill pioneer Chief Keef in a song titled "Pitbulls".[13] In 2017, Skengdo x AM released a successful "Mad About Bars" episode on Mixtape Madness with Kenny Allstar, which was later directly parodied by Big Shaq in "Man's Not Hot".[14] As of February 2022, it has clocked up 30 million views on YouTube.

In 2018, the duo released Greener on the Other Side, a 7-song EP.[15] In 2019, Skengdo x AM dropped their first full-length mixtape, Back Like We Never Left.[10][16] In February 2020, this was followed by EU Drillas, a collaborative mixtape featuring drill artists across Europe.[15]

In June 2021, Skengdo was sentenced to six months in jail for possession of a knife, as well as a post-sentence supervision order lasting a year.[17]

Controversy

410 gained notability in the media, along with other groups involved within the UK drill scene, due to their association with London gang conflict and knife crime. The group was covered in 2019 in a Sky News documentary about the rising gang violence in London.[3][18][19] Like with other UK drill groups, music videos from 410 have been removed by YouTube due to requests of their removal from the police.[20][21]

In 2018, Skengdo x AM were handed a gang injunction by police preventing them from performing music that police claimed was inciting violence. It also prevented them from entering certain areas, such as Kennington. In January 2019, Skengdo x AM were handed a suspended jail sentence for breaching the gang injunction. The police cited their performance of a song titled "Attempted 1.0" as the culprit. Police claim the injunction was placed upon the pair due to evidence they were associated with gangs. TK & SK, their managers, claimed the two were not involved in gang violence. The court claimed they found evidence that drill music can, and was, encouraging violence.[19][22][23][24] It was the first time in British legal history that a prison sentence had been given due to the performance of a song. Following this, rappers Krept & Konan formed a petition asking the police to "stop criminalising drill music". The pair also released a film, titled Ban Drill, addressing their concerns.[7][25] An anti-censorship event was hosted at Saatchi Gallery. Both musicians performed music at the event. Russian artist Andrei Molodkin created an art-piece containing Skengdo x AM lyrics for the event criticising censorship.[23][26] Skengdo x AM and Krept & Konan were invited by Diane Abbott to address the Houses of Parliament about censorship of drill music.[27]

On 13 January 2021, their injunction ended[28] and the duo are now able to continue producing drill music without any censorship.

Discography

Albums
  • Greener on the Other Side (2018)
  • Back Like We Never Left (2019)
  • EU Drillas (2020)

Mixtapes
  • 2Bunny (2017)

References
  1. Thapar, Ciaran (8 June 2018). "Skengdo & AM Are the UK Drillers at the Top of Their Game". Vice. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. "DON'T CARE". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  3. "'This war won't end': London gang murders on the rise". Sky News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  4. "Them Pretty New Blocks: Drill Music and Gentrification in South London". Crack Magazine. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  5. "From Chicago to Brixton: The surprising rise of UK drill". FACT Magazine. 27 April 2017. Archived from the original on 29 May 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  6. Virk, Kameron (26 April 2019). "Drill music 'adapting and evolving'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 March 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  7. Hancox, Dan (31 January 2019). "Skengdo and AM: the drill rappers sentenced for playing their song". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 9 August 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  8. "What do we know about gangs in Southwark?". Southwark News. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  9. "Drill rapper Loski 'caught with loaded gun to use on gang rivals'". Evening Standard. 21 January 2020. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  10. Dummy. "Skengdo x AM return with first full-length mixtape 'Back Like We Never Left'". DummyMag. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  11. Thapar, Ciaran (8 June 2018). "Skengdo & AM Are Redefining UK Drill". Vice. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  12. "Skengdo | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  13. "Skengdo X AM Link Up With The Original Driller Chief Keef For "Pitbulls"". trenchtrenchtrench.com. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  14. "The 10 best UK rap tracks of 2017". FACT Magazine. 18 December 2017. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  15. "Skengdo x AM Care Nothing For Brexit As They Link Up With 'EU Drillas' For Latest Project". Complex. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  16. "Skengdo & AM are 'Back Like We Never Left' on new mixtape". Mixmag. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  17. Phillips, Jamie (29 June 2021). "Brixton rapper Skengdo runs away from officers 'towards police station' after being found with 'Samurai sword'". mylondon.news. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  18. "Inside London's Gang Violence". YouTube. Archived from the original on 27 February 2020.
  19. "Drill rappers get suspended sentences after breaching gang injunction". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  20. "U.K. Drill Rappers Uploading Videos To PornHub After Being Censored On YouTube". HotNewHipHop. 12 July 2018. Archived from the original on 5 March 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  21. "Pornhub Is Now Hosting Banned U.K. Drill Rap Videos". Highsnobiety. 10 July 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
  22. "Two men sentenced after breaching gang injunction by performing... - Metropolitan Police". 21 January 2019. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  23. "Terms & Conditions: A UK Drill Story | YouTube Originals". YouTube. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020.
  24. "Rappers speak out after being sentenced for performing drill music". Channel 4 News. 28 January 2019. Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  25. Dummy. "Krept & Konan urge police to stop targeting drill artists with new petition". DummyMag. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  26. Dummy. "Skengdo x AM team up with Russian blood artist to protest artistic censorship". DummyMag. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  27. Dummy. "Diane Abbott invites drill artists to the Houses of Parliament to discuss censorship". DummyMag. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  28. Hancox, Dan (31 January 2019). "Skengdo and AM: the drill rappers sentenced for playing their song". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2021. The injunction will remain in place until January 2021 [...].
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