Britain's drill rapper Digga D, whose real name is Rhys Herbert, has ignited widespread criticism after publicly supporting his friend Perry Allen-Thomas, who was convicted on Tuesday for the murder of 44-year-old Michelle Sadio. The shooting occurred outside the River of Life Pentecostal Church in Willesden, north London, on December 14, 2024.
The Tragic Incident
Ms Sadio, a legal administrator, was among approximately 100 mourners attending a wake for 80-year-old Dianne Boatong. At around 9pm, guests gathered on the pavement when a stolen black Kia pulled up and shots were fired into the crowd. Ms Sadio was struck and died at the scene. Transport for London contractor Kenneth Amoah, 39, was hit in the back and left paralysed below the waist, while self-employed Kadeem Francis, 32, sustained a gunshot wound to the foot. The intended target is believed to have been rapper Trapstar Toxic, real name Adetokunbo Ajibola, 33, who was present at the event.
Following an Old Bailey trial, Perry Allen-Thomas, 27, and Amir Salem, 20, were found guilty of murder and two counts of attempted murder. Digga D, 25, who was jailed last year for importing and supplying 99lbs of cannabis, took to Snapchat to express his support for Allen-Thomas. Alongside a picture of his friend and broken heart emojis, he wrote: 'f***ed up system' and '3 my darg'.
Public Outrage
One follower screenshotted the post and shared it on X, where users expressed outrage. 'F***ed up system? Your bredrin killed a woman for nun. F***ed up mindset,' one user fumed. Another commented: '"F***ed up system" they killed an innocent woman. Digga D is a fool.'
Rapper Shaquille Sutherland, known as Lil Shak, 26, from Wembley, and Tahjin Sommersall, 19, from Feltham, west London, were acquitted during the trial. The prosecution alleged Sommersall had been in the Kia with two other men who fled the country after the incident. At least four shots were fired, though it remains unclear who pulled the trigger. Allen-Thomas, from Wembley, was said to have helped organise the shooting but ensured he was elsewhere at the time. The Kia used in the attack had been stolen and was being driven with false plates; after the shooting, it was doused in petrol and set alight. Salem, from Wembley, had purchased some of the petrol used to start the fire, and was in contact with the Kia occupants, reporting back to Allen-Thomas. The weapon used had been employed twice before in recent months and was described as a 'gang gun'.
Digga D's Criminal History
Digga D has multiple convictions for gang-related crime and drugs. In January 2024, he was sentenced to three years and 11 months for selling 45 kilos of cannabis after helping import the drug from the US. He was arrested during a police raid on his property in Bracebridge Heath, Lincolnshire, while broadcasting live on Instagram. He pleaded guilty to importing 3.6 kilos of cannabis in June and July 2023 and to supplying cannabis. Judge Simon Hirst determined he played a significant role in selling cannabis for profit and jailed him for just under four years. He was released early in October 2025. The court heard he had six previous convictions for 13 offences, including possessing an offensive weapon and violent disorder, for which he received 30 months youth detention in March 2020.
In May 2025, Digga D was convicted of driving a £200,000-plus Lamborghini without insurance near Piccadilly Circus. He was previously jailed for two and a half years for his part in a machete brawl in central London and released in May 2020. Anti-knife campaigners criticised the BBC for producing a documentary about him, in which he complained about his struggle to make music that glorifies gang attacks. A Metropolitan Police order even banned him from rapping about rivals or specific attacks, though he can refer to violence generally.
Gang Violence and Censorship
In 2018, five members of the 1011 gang, including Digga D, were jailed and banned from making violent videos after being caught with machetes and baseball bats on the way to attack a rival gang in 2017. A judge banned them from mentioning death or injury in songs or on social media and ordered them to inform police before recording or performing. In 2019, cyber criminals broke into the Met Police Twitter account and posted tweets calling for Digga D's release, including 'FREE DIGGA D ON FOENEM GANG'. In a YouTube video viewed nearly three million times, Digga D boasted about bleaching his knife after using it to attack someone. His songs are explicit about sex and gang rivalries, often degrading women. He is so hated that rival gang The Harrow Road Boys (HRB) hatched a plot to shoot him, for which they were later jailed.
The reasons behind Digga D's belief that the system is faulty remain unclear, but this is not the first time his words have caused public anger. His use of rap to goad rivals and glorify violence has earned him the nickname 'London's most hated rapper'.
