After being convicted of first-degree manslaughter for a 2017 stabbing, Kidd Creole, formerly of pioneering rap band Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five, has been sentenced to 16 years in prison, according to Rolling Stone. Creole, real name Nathaniel Glover, was accused of stabbing a John Jolly, a 55-year-old homeless man, to death on the street, believing that Jolly was propositioning him.
In a statement, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said, “Mr. Jolly’s death was devastating to his family and those who knew him. Every life we lose to violent crime ripples throughout our entire city, and we will continue to ensure everyone in our borough can live their lives with the sense of safety and security they deserve. This case makes clear that if you commit a violent crime, we will hold you accountable, and I thank our team for their hard work achieving justice in this matter.”
However, Glover’s lawyer Scottie Celestin sees the sentence as “egregious and extreme.” He told Rolling Stone, “I continue to have faith in our judicial system. My focus is now on the appeal process. There are many appealable issues, specifically the denial of Mr. Glover being able to assert the justification of self-defense, despite the fact that he was retreating and the victim followed behind him. While some may be happy with the presumed victory of the acquittal on the top charge of Murder, we don’t view it as a win. I believe the 16 years given are heavy-handed and motivated not by the evidence and mitigating facts but by external factors.”
As a member of the Furious Five, The Kidd Creole was pivotal in the early development of the hip-hop music business. The group’s 1982 hit “The Message” is largely credited as one of rap’s first “conscious” songs and was added to the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.