Smiley Culture RIP
Being a huge fan of the early days of Hip Hop, its extremely sad to hear of the demise of the legend that was Smiley Culture. He has died after allegedly stabbing himself in the heart during a police raid on his home. Sources said the musician – real name David Emmanuel – killed himself after officers swooped on his home in east Surrey.
The 48-year-old former singer is believed to have asked if he could go and make a cup of tea before being taken to a police station for questioning. While he was gone, he took a knife and plunged it into his own chest. ’Smiley must have thought he was going away for a long time and decided he could not handle it,’ a source told The Sun newspaper.
A breath of fresh air from the quiff promoting, new romantics of the 80s, This was a Culture that belonged to a new club. Not hip hop in its rawest sense perhaps, but very cheeky and infectious to boot. That was the appeal of Mr Culture and with Cockney Translator and Police Officer we were treated to the cockney ramblings of the Culture in an almost hypnotic reggae stylee. At the time, I couldn’t understand a word of it but then I was only a nipper. These days you can hear his influence with artists such as Roots Minerva, Tippa Irie and Dizzee Rascal. There is no doubt that he made a big impression on the music scene and had us all giving it Cockney large in the school playground.
On the 15th of March 2011 as part of an ongoing operation, officers from the Metropolitan Police Service’s Serious and Organised Crime Command attended a residential address in east Surrey to make an arrest. While they were at the address, an incident occurred during which a 48-year-old man died. Officers from Surrey Police attended the incident and it has been formally referred to the Independent Police Complaints Commission.
The Independent Police Complaints Commission has confirmed it is now investigating the incident and Smiley’s untimely death seems to be shrouded in controversy as the investigation continues. It has been widely speculated that Smiley didnt take his own life and you can read lots from the recent press conference at Lee Jaspers blog below. His Newphew Merlin also
posted this up on his YouTube page:
Smiley was murdered, he’s a multimillionaire who was about to be acquitted from his pending case, he was seen in good spirits, 20 mins b4 he allegedly killed himself after asking to make a cup of tea? Whilst being raided?!
Read More in the Guardian
Read More in the Independant
Read more from the BBC
Read more on Lee Jaspers blog
To quote another Hip Hop legend, “Something ain’t right….”
There are some songs that trigger thoughts and emotions everytime they are played. Conversely in a given situation, a piece of music can pop up from nowhere. Every time I get a speeding ticket or I see a blue light in my rear view mirror, Smiley is there giving ‘rep-rep-rep beside me on tha scooter‘. A legend and a huge loss to the community of culture and music.