One man was known as a killer, sentenced to life in prison in 2009 for killing a 16-year-old London student in a gruesome confrontation at a bakery.
The other man was a balaclava-wearing rapper from South London, known as TEN, whose music in the drill genre about prison life, crime and bloodshed had gained him a small but emerging profile.
The two once disconnected identities became embroiled in Britain, after a tabloid investigation this week claimed that Jake Fahri, who had been conditionally released from prison in the bakery killing, and the artist TEN, were the same person.
That conclusion, in turn, cast TEN’s lyrics about killing, bloodshed and weapons in a new light. It also contributed to an ongoing debate over drill music, a contentious style of hip-hop that artists say is a creative outlet for their experiences. Officials however, have blamed the genre for playing a role in inciting violence.
Mr. Fahri was convicted of murder at the age 19 in the killing of Jimmy Mizen, who was fatally wounded after Mr. Fahri threw a glass baking dish at him during a fight. The dish shattered when it hit Mr. Mizen, severing an artery in his neck and causing him to collapse from blood loss.
At the time, Mr. Fahri said that he was not guilty and had acted in self-defense. He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 14 years, and was released with conditions in 2023.
A day after the article appeared in The Sun on Wednesday, Mr. Fahri was detained for violating rules of his conditional release, a spokeswoman for the Probation Service said in a statement.
It did not identify the violations or explicitly link him to TEN. But it said the Mizen family deserved better than “to see their son’s murderer shamelessly boasting about his violent crime.”
TEN has rapped about being a “killer in the streets” and of “swinging around the blade.” One lyric, with an expletive, reads: “Ever see a man soul fly from his eyes and his breath gone? I wanted it more, it made it less wrong. Seen blood spilled the same floor he was left on.”
Barry Mizen, the father of Jimmy Mizen, in an interview on Saturday, said, “For him to be making money out of what he did to our son — making money out of murdering someone — feels wrong to me.”
Margaret Mizen, Jimmy Mizen’s mother, speaking of the experience of listening to TEN’s music and hearing apparent references to their son’s murder in the lyrics, said: “It was incredibly painful. He took Jimmy’s life.”
But the Mizens are also concerned, they said, that rap music like TEN’s promotes violence and drugs to impressionable young people.
“It’s almost like a war on our streets, and this kind of music is aiding and abetting that,” Ms. Mizen said.
The BBC, Britain’s national broadcaster, has come under criticism after a radio show that showcases new British artists included TEN’s music last year. The office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the BBC that the broadcaster needed to “answer some questions pretty urgently.”
A spokeswoman for the BBC said in a statement that it had played two of TEN’s tracks, which did not contain the graphic lyrics highlighted in the tabloid reports. There were no further plans to play TEN’s music, she said, adding, “We were not aware of his background and we in no way condone his actions.”
Efforts to reach Mr. Fahri on Saturday were unsuccessful, and accounts on Instagram and X that were linked to the TEN Spotify page were made private. A statement posted Friday on the Instagram account, appearing to be from Mr. Fahri, apologized to the Mizen family “if my words have caused any harm or distress.”
“I want to make it clear that none of my lyrics are aimed at the victim or his family,” it said, adding that the lyrics were an “artistic expression” of his life in prison. “I do not glorify those experiences but they are a part of my past that shaped me,” he said.
Since his release, he said that he had focused on rebuilding his life, and added that he had served his full sentence. He said he had never intended for anyone to die.
“All I want is a chance to move forward with my life,” he said.
Drill music, which originated in Chicago more than a decade ago, has spread to cities like London, New York and Stockholm, and prompted conversations about the balance of censorship with public safety.
Artists and fans say that the songs are a form of self-expression that reflect the frustrations of struggling communities, where issues like gang disputes, gun violence and poverty are a part of life. Some groups have criticized the focus on drill rap as discriminatory.
But officials and the authorities have blamed the music for glamorizing and inciting violence, and even scrutinized songs for evidence of potential criminal activity. Drill rappers say they have been banned from performing in New York and heavily policed in London, where violent crime has surged in recent years.
“It’s not a case of wanting him to stay in prison,” said Ms. Mizen, who said that Mr. Fahri could have chosen to write music expressing remorse for what he had done. “It’s a case of wanting him to change.”
She was troubled that this round of attention could bring her son’s killer more renown.
“In some people’s eyes, he will be a celebrity,” she said. “That’s the thing, the culture that we live in. And it is a worry.”
