Rapper stabbed 20 times in deadly gang feud is deported to Jamaica

A rapper jailed after being caught up in a deadly gang feud has been deported to Jamaica after being granted early release.  

Kimani Shaw, who was convicted of possessing a firearm, was released this week from an 11-year tariff imposed in 2021. 

Shaw, 26, who performs as Marnz Malone, released three albums while behind bars — including one which reached No 66 in the charts.

He was found guilty of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life after being caught up in a 24-hour spate of violence in Birmingham. 

Jamaican-born Shaw aimed a pistol at rival gang members but did not fire before being stabbed 20 times in an underpass and ‘left for dead’ in May 2019, his trial heard. 

While he was in intensive care, his friends or associates killed Dante Mullings in a drive-by shooting where a gunman fired at least eight shots into the victim’s car.  

Four other men were jailed for life over the murder, which police said was a revenge attack carried out after the near-fatal stabbing the previous day.  

While serving his sentence, Shaw released songs showing a masked figure rapping while walking on wings and sitting in cells in prison. 

In one track, he says, ‘blud they stabbed me 20 times I wasn’t mean to go. I know a man that died they stabbed him twice and closed his envelope.’ 

Shaw has also used his music to reflect on life and mental health in jail and has said he has learnt patience and moved away from crime. 

He was born in Spanish Town, Jamaica, and relocated to Newtown in Birmingham at the age of six after his mother settled there following the death of his father. 

Speaking to the RTM Records podcast, Shaw said his family was ‘dirt poor’ in Jamaica and his mum came to England after his dad was killed while he was aged two.  

He also told the hosts that ‘there was no evidence there was ever a firearm on me’ and he had been serving an extended determinate sentence where offenders are released once they have served two-thirds of their tariff.  

‘People have life behind it, people have died behind it,’ he said of his case. 

The government maintains that it has returned 5,430 foreign national offenders in the last year – a 12% increase on the previous 12 months. 

A Home Office spokesperson said: ‘This government will not allow foreign criminals and illegal migrants to exploit our laws, which is why we are reforming human rights laws and the broken appeals system, allowing us to scale up deportations. The Home Secretary has recently announced sweeping reforms to tackle illegal migration.  

‘The reforms will make Britain a less attractive destination for illegal migrants and will make it easier to remove and deport them. 

‘All foreign national offenders who receive a prison sentence in the UK are referred for deportation at the earliest opportunity.’ 

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