Harlem Spartans

Harlem Spartans is a British hip hop collective based in Kennington, London.[3][4][5][6] Members of Harlem Spartans have acquired over 100 million streams through their music.[1] The name, "Harlem", is a nickname for their local area of Kennington.[3] The police allege that Harlem Spartans is a gang, however this is denied by the group.[7]

Harlem Spartans
OriginKennington, London, England
Genres
Years active2014–present
Associated acts67, Moscow17,[1] KuKu[2]
MembersSee list
Past membersSee list

Harlem Spartans is affiliated with Camberwell-based group Moscow17.[8][3] Australian drill group Onefour cites Harlem Spartans as a major influence in their music.[9]

History

Beginnings (2014–2018)

Harlem Spartans started making music in 2014, using a local youth centre as a music studio. Most artists within Harlem Spartans are from Kennington, with many of them going to Tenison’s School in Oval. Musically, like much of UK drill music, their music contains references to their local area, violence, references to beef with other groups, and is often riddled with slang.[4]

The group is known for its beef with Brixton-based group 410.[3][6] The beef has been expressed through various diss tracks, and has at times escalated to physical violence. 410 member AM released the song "Attempted 1.0" in 2018. The song contained many direct references to violence towards Harlem Spartans members. Skengdo & AM, members of 410, were later given a gang injunction from the police that banned them from entering Kennington or mentioning rival gangs in their music.

Rise to fame and success of Harlem Spartans (2018–present)

Prominent songs from the group include "Call Me a Spartan",[4] "Kennington Where It Started",[4] and Loski's songs "Cool Kid", "Hazards", and "Forrest Gump", the latter of which entered the charts. In April of 2018, Loski released his mixtape Call Me Loose.[10][5][11]

Canadian artist Drake has publicly stated he is a 'fan' of Harlem Spartans,[4] and has posted Harlem Spartan music lyrics onto his social media.[12] In 2019, Drake appeared on-stage alongside Harlem Spartans member Loski.[13] Drake credited Loski as an influence for his Scorpion album.[10]

Current members

The list below includes confirmed members of Harlem Spartans. DJ Sparta DJ's for the group.[14] :

Former members

Controversy

Death of Splash Addict (S.A)

Latwaan Griffiths, better known by his stage name Splash Addict (S.A), or Latz, was found with numerous knife wounds after being attacked whilst on the back of a moped in Camberwell, South London, on 25 July 2018 at the age of 18. [22] A 17 year old was arrested the following day in connection to the murder.[23] It was reported that Griffith was stabbed to death in Camberwell.[1][8][24] Later in the evening, shots were fired at homes that police suspect were homes of 410 members. One member of 410 is alleged to have attacked a Harlem Spartans member with a metal pole in the waiting room of Thameside prison.[1]

Death of Bis

On 6 December 2019, Harlem Spartans member Crosslom Davis better known as, Bis, was stabbed and killed in Bronze Street, Deptford, south-east London.[25][26][27] He was pronounced dead at 03:30 after being stabbed multiple times.[28][29] Bis was 20-years old at time of death.[30]

MizOrMac jailed

Mucktar Khan, better known by his stage name MizOrMac,[31] was jailed following an incident in the early hours of February 15th 2017, when a taxi containing MizOrMac and fellow Harlem member Joshua Eduardo, better known as Blanco,[32] was pulled over by armed police. The police searched the pair and found a loaded gun on Blanco and a samurai sword he had attempted to conceal in his trousers, additionally MizOrMac was wearing ballistic body armour and had a balaclava.[33] On 9 February 2018, MizOrMac was convicted of possession of a firearm and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and sentenced to six years in prison. His co defendant Blanco was sentenced to 3 and a half years.[34] On 11 December 2020, he announced via twitter that he'd been recalled for an undisclosed amount of time.[35]

Loski jailed

In 2016, Loski was sentenced to prison after being found in possession of a knife. In 2018 he was caught in possession of a firearm. On 25 July Loski was recalled back into prison.[36]

References
  1. chrisnewell (2019-05-05). "Doing violence to music". members.tortoisemedia.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  2. "HARLEM SPARTANS & KUKU GO HARD ON WESTWOOD CRIB SESSION". GRM Daily - Grime, Rap music and Culture. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  3. "Them Pretty New Blocks: Drill Music and Gentrification in South London". Crack Magazine. Archived from the original on 2019-09-03. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  4. "Is drill the most controversial genre of music?". British GQ. Archived from the original on 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  5. "Watch a new video from Loski, the London rapper you need to know". The FADER. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  6. "Get Familiar With UK Drill, the New Sound Exploding on the Streets of London". Complex. Archived from the original on 2019-06-11. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  7. Al-Othman, Hannah. "I Went Out On The Streets With One Of Scotland Yard's Elite Gang Crime Units". BuzzFeed. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  8. Hancox, Dan (2019-01-14). "'Security has deteriorated': young Londoners pay price as city expands". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2019-11-27. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
  9. Riley, Christopher (2019-09-05). "Meet OneFour – The Western Sydney Rap Group Taking Over Hip Hop". GQ. Archived from the original on 2019-12-03. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
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  18. "Harlem Spartans' Zico Maintains Quality Control On Drill Cut "Never Do Me Wrong"". trenchtrenchtrench.com. Archived from the original on 2019-12-12. Retrieved 2019-12-12.
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