Kidd Creole, formerly of pioneering hip-hop collective Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, has argued it was self-defence when he fatally stabbed a homeless man in New York City in 2017.
The rapper is currently on trial for murder in a Manhattan court, with prosectors claiming Creole – real name Nathaniel Glover – stabbed John Jolly in the chest with a steak knife shortly before midnight on August 1, 2017, after Jolly approached Glover and asked, “What’s up?”
It’s alleged that Glover, who was on his way to his maintenance job in Manhattan, was angered when Jolly approached him, believing he was gay and was flirting with him, the Associated Press has reported.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is New York City. It’s 12 o’clock at night. Who’s saying ‘What’s up?’ to you with good intentions?” Glover’s attorney, Scottie Celestin, told the jury last Friday (March 25).
Assistant district attorney Mark Dahl hit back at Celestin’s argument, telling the jury that Glover had confessed to police that he had stabbed Jolly in rage as he believed the 55-year-old was hitting on him.
“The defendant confessed to pulling out a kitchen knife and repeatedly thrusting it into the body of a stranger on the street, killing him,” Dahl said. “Was there anything that would prevent him from simply running away from Mr. Jolly? No.”
Glover was a member of Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, forming the group in 1978 alongside Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Keef Cowboy, Scorpio and Rahiem.
The group achieved mainstream success in 1982 with the single ‘The Message’, lifted from their debut album of the same name, but splintered into two separate groups the following year. The original lineup had a brief reunion in 1987, releasing their second and final album, ‘On The Strength’, in 1988 before dissolving once again.
The trial is set to continue today (March 28).
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