Kidd Creole: Hip-hop pioneer, 62, found guilty of first-degree manslaughter in 2017 stabbing
The Kidd Creole, a founding member of the rap group 'Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five', has been found guilty of first-degree manslaughter in connection with the fatal stabbing of a homeless man in New York City. The rapper, whose real name is Nathaniel Glover, had gone on trial last month for stabbing 55-year-old John Jolly with a steak knife in midtown Manhattan in August 2017.
Before the 62-year-old was charged with murder, the artist had been residing in Mount Hope in the Bronx, NYC and working as a handyman and security guard in midtown Manhattan. According to the police, the incident took place on August 1, 2017, when the rapper got into an argument with a 55-year-old homeless man and repeatedly stabbed him in the torso using a steak knife. The homeless man was immediately admitted to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
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Glover was arrested the day after the assault on the charge of second-degree murder. Admitting to the attack during a videotaped police interview, Glover said: "To tell the truth, I thought he was gay and because I thought he was gay, and he was saying that to me, 'what's up,' I was thinking that he was thinking I was gay. So I was a little annoyed by that."
The rapper further said, "He approached me. I got a little nervous. So then I tried to back up a little bit, and he moved forward, and then I just took the knife and stabbed him...I wish I never would have seen him. It's all my fault, because I chose to stab him. I have to take responsibility for that." Prosecutors alleged that Glover's motives were homophobic while his lawyers argued that he stabbed Jolly out of fear.
The 62-year-old rapper faces a prison sentence of up to 25 years after a jury delivered the verdict after hours of deliberation following closing arguments in the case. Glover will be sentenced on May 4.
Glover's band, which was formed in the South Bronx in 1976, consisted of five other members: DJ Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Keith Cowboy, Scorpio (aka Mr Ness) and Rahiem. Some of their hits included the 1982 rap single 'The Message', and 1983 'White Lines (Don't Don't Do It)'. In 2007, they became the first hip-hop group to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
