British rapper Wiley charged with assault and burglary

By Toyin Owoseje, CNN

London police say British grime artist Wiley has been charged with assault and burglary.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police told CNN on Monday that the 42-year-old musician — real name Richard Kylea Cowie Jr. — is accused of breaking into an east London flat, assaulting the male occupant and causing criminal damage.

Although the occupant sustained a minor injury, an ambulance was not required, police said.

Wiley, who is nicknamed the “Godfather of grime” for his influence on the British rap genre, is due to appear at Thames Magistrates’ Court on September 13.

CNN has contacted Wiley’s representatives for comment.

The incident comes just over a year after the rapper faced widespread criticism for an alleged anti-Semitic tirade on Twitter. He was subsequently dropped by his management company and was permanently banned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

He later told Sky News that he wasn’t a “racist,” saying his “comments should not have been directed to all Jews or Jewish people,” and he apologized for “comments that were looked at as anti-Semitic.”

In 2018, Wiley was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to music.

The-CNN-Wire
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