Izzpot, a popular drill rapper of OFB fame, is going back to jail. The reasons currently remain unclear, as it could be a recall or a new conviction, but fellow OFB member Dsavv posted on social media confirming that Izzpot is indeed going back in. Following in the footsteps of fellow OFB rapper SJ, after featuring with Bandokay and Double Lz as a trio, Izzpot is destined to the same fate as SJ.
On his Instagram, Dsavv posted “free my n**** potta [Izzpot] gonna do u proud bro”, breaking the news of his friends recent incarcertation. Some speculate that a comment like this from Dsavv is indicative of a long sentence instead of a brief recall. More news is expected to follow in the coming days and weeks.
This announcement comes alongside the news that new music is on the way from Izzpot. Clips depicting Izzpot on the phone from the inside, as well as excerpts of unreleased music, have appeared on social media in the last 24 hours.
OFB, being a major figure in UK drill music, headed by arguably the biggest star in drill, Headie One, have been embroiled in multiple controversies over the last few years. As well as being mentioned regularly in the wider conversation about drill music inciting violence in the capital, OFB specifically have recieved heat from the British public for glorifying actual crimes committed by actual criminals.
The aforementioned SJ, once a major emerging talent from OFB, is currently in prison for murder and will only be a free man once he reaches his forties. Headie One, who in the last few years has collaborated with Drake and Future, recieved a huge amount of heat for his track ‘Know Better’, now a drill classic, but then sparked controversy. The lyrical content referred to real crimes and murders; someone speaking to the BBC said the following: “What’s being said are facts relating to real people, what he is saying is real. That person that got shot in his neck, his parents got to listen to that. Everyone from Wood Green knew exactly what he was referring to. Everyone was upset.”
Of course, these accusations are one-sided, and there is a larger story at play. OFB hail from one of the most deprived estates in London and the UK at large, Broadwater Farm. OFB member Bandokay lost his father at a young age, known to the public as Mark Duggan, whose killing sparked the 2011 London riots. Bandokay’s manager said the following to The Guardian: “We’re known as one of the most notorious estates in the UK. We want to change that. Through music, using the technology available to us, we’re coming together to run a business.” Indeed, music is the way out for marginalised children, and in their music they are merely depicting the life around them. Some may see this as deeply subversive. The debate is, of course, itself divisive and ongoing as the genre grows.
