A Killer Was Taken Back Into Custody. Was It Because of His Drill Rap Songs?

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.