Solo 45: Witness describes alleged rape by grime musician

Andy Anokye is a rapper with the grime collective called Boy Better Know

A woman was left "crying frantically" during abuse by a grime rapper accused of torturing and raping four women, a jury has heard.

The woman, who cannot be identified, said in a video interview that Andy Anokye, who is known by his stage name Solo 45, had waterboarded her.

"I felt like I was drowning, and he kept doing it", the court heard.

Mr Anokye, from Bristol, denies 31 offences including 22 counts of rape and five counts of false imprisonment.

He also denies two charges of assault by penetration and two charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

In the interview played to Bristol Crown Court, the woman said the defendant took her to a sink full of water and told her to put her hand in it.

"He went to plug the toaster in and put that in and I was pulling away and he was saying, 'do it, just do it'," the jury heard.

"He was like, 'it really turns me on', and he was saying it was a game he used to play, that rape chase or something".

The jury was also told Mr Anokye dropped a knife on the woman's head and threatened to shoot her.

Further videos were played in court of Mr Anokye allegedly forcing the woman to perform a sex act, giving a thumbs up to the camera after the woman tells him "I hate you" and telling her to "shut up" after she cries out during the alleged abuse.

'Rough sex'

Defending, Sallie Bennett-Jenkins QC told jurors to be careful of making criticisms about the "lifestyle that came with his work".

She said prosecutors had criticised him for not being "modest" about his musical success or the lifestyle it gave him.

Claims he was "a bully" or "arrogant" did not make him guilty of the charges he faces, Ms Bennett-Jenkins said.

"You are not here to condemn people for their sexual choices."

The court previously heard Andy Anokye searched online for dacryphilia, where people are aroused by others in pain

Ms Bennett-Jenkins said "robust or rough sex" may have been part of his personal life but he had "a reasonable belief" the women were consenting to the activity with him.

"Either those participating consented or Andy Anokye reasonably believed that they did consent," she said.

Mr Anokye, of Millennium Promenade, denies all the charges against him.

The trial continues.