Skengdo x AM are a British

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- ...

duo from

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

, London, formed by Terrell Daniel "Skengdo" Doyley and Joshua "AM" Malinga. They are both members of the

UK drill UK drill is a subgenre of drill music and road rap that originated in the South London district of Brixton from 2012 onwards. While being sonically distinct from Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous ...

group and alleged gang, 410, which is known to have conflict with neighbouring

Harlem Spartans Harlem Spartans, often abbreviated to HS, also known as Harlem O or simply Harlem, is a British hip hop collective based in Kennington, London. Members of Harlem Spartans have acquired over 100 million streams through their music. The name, "Ha ...

, based in

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between th ...

. The duo gained some media attention in 2019 where they were handed a suspended jail sentence due to performing a song that police alleged encouraged gang violence. Skengdo x AM have sold-out tours in the UK, performed at Reading and Leeds Festival, and topped the

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

hip-hop charts.

History

In 2017, Skengdo x AM released his debut mixtape, ''2Bunny''. In 2018, the pair collaborated with Chicago drill pioneer

Chief Keef Keith Farrelle Cozart (born August 15, 1995), better known by his stage name Chief Keef, is an American rapper and record producer. Born and raised in Chicago's South Side, he began his recording career as a teenager and initially garnered re ...

in a song titled "Pitbulls". In 2017, Skengdo x AM released a successful "Mad About Bars" episode on

Mixtape Madness Mixtape Madness is a British urban music outlet and an entertainment and distribution platform based in London, United Kingdom. The platform was founded in 2010 by a group of friends. Mixtape Madness is the 3rd biggest media outlet platform in th ...

with

Kenny Allstar Kenny Enahoro, known professionally as Kenny Allstar (born 19 April 1993), is a British DJ and radio presenter who is the host of the BBC Radio 1Xtra Rap Show on Friday nights. He also hosts a ''Mad About Bars'' series on Mixtape Madness on YouT ...

. In 2018, the duo released ''Greener on the Other Side'', a 7-song EP. In 2019, Skengdo x AM dropped their first full-length mixtape, ''Back Like We Never Left''. In February 2020, this was followed by ''EU Drillas'', a collaborative mixtape featuring drill artists across Europe.

Legal issues

In June 2021, Skengdo was sentenced to six months in jail for possession of a knife, as well as a post-sentence supervision order lasting a year.

Controversy

410 gained notability in the media, along with other groups involved within the

scene, due to their association with London gang conflict and knife crime. The group was covered in 2019 in a

Sky News Sky News is a British free-to-air television news channel, live stream news network and news organisation. Sky News is distributed via an English-language radio news service, and through online channels. It is owned by Sky Group, a division of ...

documentary about the rising gang violence in London. Like with other UK drill groups, music videos from 410 have been removed by YouTube due to requests of their removal from the police. In 2018, Skengdo x AM were handed a gang injunction by police preventing them from performing music that police claimed was inciting violence. It also prevented them from entering certain areas, such as Kennington. In January 2019, Skengdo x AM were handed a suspended jail sentence for breaching the gang injunction. The police cited their performance of a song titled "Attempted 1.0" as the culprit. Police claim the injunction was placed upon the pair due to evidence they were associated with gangs. TK & SK, their managers, claimed the two were not involved in gang violence. The court claimed they found evidence that drill music can, and was, encouraging violence. It was the first time in British legal history that a prison sentence had been given due to the performance of a song. Following this, rappers

Krept & Konan Krept and Konan is a British hip hop duo from London, consisting of Casyo Valentine "Krept" Johnson BEM (born 4 February 1990, Gipsy Hill) and Karl Dominic "Konan" Wilson BEM (born 3 September 1989, Thornton Heath), the son of Delroy Wilson ...

formed a petition asking the police to "stop criminalising drill music". The pair also released a film, titled ''Ban Drill'', addressing their concerns. An anti-censorship event was hosted at

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the ...

. Both musicians performed music at the event. Russian artist Andrei Molodkin created an art-piece containing Skengdo x AM lyrics for the event criticising censorship. Skengdo x AM and Krept & Konan were invited by

Diane Abbott Diane Julie Abbott (born 27 September 1953) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has been serving as Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hackney North and Stoke Newington since 1987 Unit ...

to address the

Houses of Parliament The Palace of Westminster is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and is located in London, England. It is commonly called the Houses of Parliament after the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two legislative ch ...

about censorship of drill music. On 13 January 2021, their injunction ended and the duo are now able to continue producing drill music without any censorship.

Discography

Albums

* ''Greener on the Other Side'' (2018) * ''Back Like We Never Left'' (2019) * ''EU Drillas'' (2020)

Mixtapes

* ''2Bunny'' (2017)

References

{{reflist Musical groups from the London Borough of Lambeth Black British musical groups English hip-hop groups English musical duos Hip-hop duos UK drill musicians British drill musicians Gangsta rappers Black British male rappers British male rappers Musical groups established in 2014