Joshua Ribera (10 August 1995 – 21 September 2013), performing as Depzman, was a British rapper. Ribera featured on some of the largest music channels on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

that showcase grime music all across the UK, from JDZMedia, P110 and, the largest out of them all, SB.TV. He was stabbed in the heart outside of a

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

nightclub by Armani Mitchell. He was 18 years old.

Life

Ribera was born in

Solihull Solihull ( ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe in the Arden, Warwickshire, Forest of Arden ar ...

on 10 August 1995, to Alison Cope and Anselm Ribera, who was convicted of murder in 2009. Ribera was of Spanish and Irish descent through his father. He became serious about music after being sentenced to a young offender institution for theft, gaining a name for himself in the

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust Music * Grime music, a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * "Grime", a 2023 song by Macklemore from ''Ben'' * "Grime", a 2024 song by Kittie from ''Fire ...

genre. In 2012, he took part in the "

Lord of the Mics Lord of the Mics (also known as LOTM) is a series of recorded grime clashes, headed by Jammer and Chad 'Ratty' Stennett. Each edition of LOTM features grime MCs participating in recorded clashes, in which they 'battle' each other over grime in ...

" battle-rap competition in London. His only album, ''2 Real'', was released in July 2013, and reached number 1 on the iTunes

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

chart.

Death

On 20 September 2013, Ribera attended a memorial tribute at a

Selly Oak Selly Oak is an industrial and residential area in south-west Birmingham, England. The area gives its name to Selly Oak ward and includes the neighbourhoods of: Bournbrook, Selly Park, and Ten Acres. The adjoining wards of Edgbaston and Harbor ...

nightclub held for a friend, Kyle Sheehan “Shamz”, who had died exactly one year earlier after being stabbed in the leg. Ribera was stabbed in the heart at the event and died the next day. In March 2014, his killer, Armani Mitchell, was sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

, to serve a minimum of 18 years.

Discography

* ''2 Real'' (2013)

References

External links

* Depz
Celebrate
P110 YouTube channel * Depz
Reality
P110 YouTube channel {{DEFAULTSORT:Ribera, Joshua 1995 births 2013 deaths People from Solihull Rappers from Birmingham, West Midlands English people of Irish descent English people of Spanish descent English male rappers 21st-century male rappers Grime music artists People murdered in England Deaths by stabbing in England English murder victims British people convicted of theft