A reformed gang leader hopes poetry based on his experiences on the street and in prison will tempt youngsters away from violent gangsta rap.
Justin Rollins, 29, founded a brutal south London graffiti gang and still carries scars from meat cleaver attacks inflicted in what he describes as “urban street war” in Sutton and Merton.
He created the WZ gang when he was 14 years old, but said he turned his life around after serving a three-and-a-half-year sentence for robbery, the last of his five jail terms.
Mr Rollins began writing verse in his cell and had counselling after his release in 2005. He was inspired to put together the poetry collection, called Street Crhyme, following a friend’s suicide this year.
Jamaine Taylor, 31, who had battled depression, was found by his wife hanged from a tree in Morden Park in February.
Mr Rollins, who has a daughter, said: “The book was inspired by my friend Jamaine, but it is highlighting the effects of gangsta rap music. These rappers talk about drugs, crime, fast women and cars. It influenced me, I lived a gangster lifestyle.”
In the title poem of the collection, Mr Rollins writes: “Tell me why the youth have no ambition; Gold tooth, attitude and no one listens; It could have been so easy; But the streets tempt and tease.”
Mr Rollins, who earns a living as an author and graffiti artist, wants to spread his message speaking at schools and youth groups. He said: “I’ve lived a sick criminal life, as a street kid, prison, raw violence and I’ve turned it around.”
Street Crhyme is out on November 25, published by Waterside Press.
