Drill artist and reformed criminal wants rap to promote ‘normal life’

A drill artist and reformed drug dealer has described wanting to make positive music celebrating hard work rather than a "get rich quick" lifestyle.

Junior Cleverley, from Southampton, performs under the name Chimney and said lyrics should deter young people from a life of crime, not encourage it.

The 25-year-old believes the current state of drill music - a genre of rap - glamorises drugs and violence.

He said this type of music contributed to him ending up behind bars.

After being part of a county lines network and spending almost four years in jail, Chimney is now using his own experience to write lyrics that "normalise the normal lifestyle".

Chimney was on a "downward spiral" after his mother died when he was 15

"A lot of these mainstream artists, big artists nowadays, glamorise drug dealing, whether it be with their money in their videos, the fancy cars, the nice houses," he said.

"I feel a lot of these genres have toxified the youth… it's all about stabbing people, fighting people or selling drugs.

"We should be normalising a normal lifestyle of being a man that works nine to five, comes home and has to do certain things around the house because it's normal. That's just what life is. It's not a fairy tale."

Chimney grew up on the Holyrood estate in Southampton and lived with his mum until she died, when he was 15.

He recalled: "I ended up going into a really dark place… it was just a downward spiral for me to be in the wrong crowds, doing the wrong things."

Chimney said the music he listened to when he was younger contributed to him turning to a life of crime

He started selling drugs, including cocaine and heroin, after being lured into the county lines network as a teenager.

Now he wants young people to be aware they may not realise they are being groomed.

"With the whole county line grooming thing, you won't feel like you're being groomed," he said.

"These people are your friends, or so you think. They might stick up for you but at the same time, there's always, 'I've done this for you, now you've got to do something for me' - that's where it all starts."

Chimney said he was quite "deep in the crowd" selling drugs for a couple of years until it all "came to a halt and I went to prison" and he "finally realised that it wasn't worth it".

'Freedom'

Arrested in 2019, he spent three years and nine months in prison.

"I regret the decisions that I made," he said.

"If I could go back, 100% I would because no amount of money is worth your freedom, your mental health, your family, your community. It's not worth any of that."

Released from prison in March last year, the rapper said he has already spoken to a few young people who told him they were thinking of going back to selling drugs or starting to sell drugs.

He said he told them: "What's really important here, you might not have money today but tomorrow is always another day. You have your freedom, you have your family and you have your mental health."

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