Rapper Akala on Linking Knife Crime to Race | Good Morning Britain

Rapper and activist Akala speaks to GMB about the death rate committed in the hands of knife crime throughout the UK and says the crimes can't be explained by race.
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Broadcast on 18/03/2019
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[@Mikejames1080]

I could listen to this man speak all day

[@tommyatkins2527]

you need a life

[@marcusjacques837]

Assuming you're not talking about piers here 😂

[@HannahHeavens-pe5xt]

I love how he articulates himself to

[@Mikejames1080]

@@marcusjacques837 oh definitely not 😂

[@andrel5234]

Get his audio book and u can ✊🏾

[@HugThePolice]

I wish more of our role models were like Akala

[@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr]

You can't be serious. Has he ever heard of per capita statistics?

[@hudzupELF]

Explain that?

[@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr]

@@gramma677 Better education doesn't fix issues related to gaps in lQ averages. You'd need to use gene editing like crispr at the embryonic stage. You'd need to make changes to the genes that cause differences in intelligence and behavioral patterns. It could be done, but it's illegal, even in China.

[@tommyatkins2527]

no thanks hes a precious snowflake

[@sonnythesnowball]

​@@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr Exactly! It really is a fucking joke isnt it? Black males account for about 4 percent of londons population, yet they commit by far the most street robberies and knife attacks.

[@AndyMcHenry23]

it is very obvious that peirs was not expecting akala to be as well read and unshakable as he was. akala smashed this interview

[@jevonjames5108]

You know he’s a legend when he doesn’t plug his book and only wants to help the cause. Listend to this man when he was on Chanel u and in a way he’s molded me as a man

[@gtrdxz]

per capita

[@mariocinquemani3134]

Why was Hw told He is not middle class? The is He upper middle class or lower or what?

[@KINGCABA-if4nk]

⁠@@mariocinquemani3134yeah, I know he’s middle class. Is racist base on his colour with class of accent and clothing.

[@killkojo]

i love this video so much because it’s so clear piers is trying to spin a certain narrative and trap akala into admitting that narrative is true but Akala is too smart for piers and picks up on it every time. Everyone should aspire to be as articulate and intelligent as this man!

[@ftftyffghfvghfcht6701]

by 'narrative' do you mean '100% of the knife crime in london last year was committed by black people'.

[@qballz11]

He said we don't hear it enough as if that would make a real difference. The question is now that you have heard it, what are you willing to do to change it.

[@R1H3P1]

This is why knowledge is power! Akalas brain is 🔥

[@rushgreen6244]

9:15 akala refuses to be cut off. boss move

[@kala-adaidakariopusunju6809]

I see that

[@ftftyffghfvghfcht6701]

why it that a boss move? are you familiar with the concept of an interview

[@therootoflife5290]

Respect from Tanzania

[@damiongordon6551]

I had the honor of meeting this legend called Akala. We met during a broadcast of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Jamaica. It was such an honor to meet one of my real-life heroes.

[@lonewulfmo9128]

This is one of Pier's greatest guests. He stole the show. i was NOT expecting a black rapper to be this articulate. Watching this i realized that IF you are articulate people WILL listen to you n take u seriously.

[@raspec07]

Not all the time there's alot of ignorant white people stuck in white Fragility it literally hurt them to hear the truth

[@michaelfraser5723]

AR TICKLES YOU A LOT

[@raspec07]

@@michaelfraser5723 English?

[@raspec07]

Irrespective where they are from

[@iX_ETHER]

So black rappers can't talk properly?

[@ricky9040]

Behold our beloveth Akala the Beautiful black mind a true conscience of humanity

[@popssinor8921]

this interview is over 4 years old yet Akala is one of the realest and he summed it up glasgow had a different approach and it worked London continues to push race as the issue despite the reality and decides to take many different approaches that dont work and play lip service each time gaslighting simple minds into believing race and knife crime is a thing yet when looking at the entire country as a whole its not because the overwhelming majority are caucasians committing the majority of knife crimes and the victims being caucasian... it doesnt sit well with sheep like folk so the media and even the government push the bs and regular decent folk bear there brunt seeing senseless preventable deaths.

[@GodmadeTrends]

You’re detached from reality if you don’t see there is a serious problem with knife and gun crime in the black community, it’s been like this for decades. If you’ve grown up in the inner city of London during 80’s/90’s and 2000’s you’ll know that it’s been going on and still is to this day. All Akala does is deflect!

[@AlexRawlings]

Give these vital role models more time to be heard. Give them dedicated time, where they won't be interrupted or cut short. If you feel the problem is important, become part of the solution.

[@Jb-db5kj]

Akala got such a wonderfully intelligent mind I, admire his ability to speak thoughtfully and calmly so much.

[@mrjames7246]

Should run for Mayor of London. Commands respect with the way he speaks and handles himself.

[@yedaldetecuambe81]

I could listen to Akala forever

[@laughwithme6821]

God bless this man. Bravo Akala❤❤❤

[@keifer7813]

Brings up a lot of good points I hadn't considered before

[@MatMadikPCA]

Well put, mate.

[@mikeking9061]

He's simply brilliant. I am glad he maximized his time on this platform.

[@GodmadeTrends]

What is actually brilliant about what he said?

[@stevenewton7787]

I've been stabbed and I'm pretty certain it was a Crime committed with a knife, and the court agreed 👍

[@maudeex8727]

This is the one and only stranger that if he came up to me and asked me to marry him I’d marry him tomorrow!! I absolutely love him and his beautiful mind!!! ❤ love you Akala!!!!

[@THENEWKID1022]

He is simply stating to provide similar solutions to black children everyone wants to be loved everyone wants to be supported no one wants to be condemned simply put have compassion on the children black or not

[@j.gyamayaka5826]

Perfectly said💯💯💯

[@tdim4309]

Except that in Ghana everyone is poor, that's why they don't worry about stabbing. It's the extreme income disparity and the anger that it causes, that justifies violent crime in the minds of those that commit it.

[@mitch8015]

Precisely. Even in the UK, when a particular standard of living is fairly consistent across a community, you tend to see a much greater community spirit - i suspect because theres much more of a sense of 'were all in this together'. Inequality creates segregation and resentment - race, age, gender, religion etc - none of these consistently correlate across the UK/World with high levels of crime, the only thing that does is inequality.

[@tasheriadukes5514]

I love Akala!

[@nicolemillwood8719]

Amazing role model ❤️

[@mboucaud]

I love this man!!! Akala you are an asset to this world!!!!!

[@michaelfraser5723]

HE'S A PLANT

[@QueenieShala-cu3gv]

Interesting 🔥🔥🔥

[@notyetuhuru]

Nuff respect to Akala ✊🏿

[@jahs1247]

RESPECT AKALA 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

[@Zymon-dm7cv]

It’s funny how they skipped the part of him talking about jail

[@NickPhillips-yf2re]

Yh also don’t mention that prison for profit or they’ll shut u down

[@dannyblue1168]

He should speak to Ben Shapiro

[@toniasoulbird]

Simply excellent.

[@joeboobyer5362]

Im from Oxfordshire and I'm one person removed from Akala, piers hates this 😂

[@anseco4000]

Pierce is having a hard time getting his head round what Akala is saying; it must be much harder for the rest to understand

[@andygee8716]

No, Piers wants to push another narrative but Akala won't let him.🙏🙏👍

[@georgia8448]

Sad thing is - it's not hard to understand.

[@liamscott1905]

@andygee8716 Piers and akala are pushing the same narrative. They’re on the same side hence the soft ball interview.

[@ISimulacraaa]

@liamscott1905 what narrative is that?

[@Ms.C-vf1fu]

Is this the entire interview

[@kofipianim9537]

Man speaks really well.

[@alexreid4131]

The inherent racism in these comment threads is disgusting and embarrassing. Akala makes some very valid points that opens the doors for further discussion. The people in these comment threads being reductionist in their arguments can’t even lace this guy’s boots. More humility required people. You’re not as smart as him and you could learn a lot if you humble yourselves and listen.

[@jonesthames719]

Akala 🐐

[@SharonMcwilliams78]

We need better solutions now. In Dundee Scotland as in many cities in my country we are now connected to London through organised crime. During pandemic grooming children into criminality. Men using knives and guns to terrify children. Two children my daughters friends from primary school stabbed by men sending over city lines aged 14/15 A girl stabbing a man who had groomed and raped her. Know them all. Police have hidden grooming as a problem in Dundee going as far as being corrupt in favour convictions over safety/children. They used a peer group to monitor and convict gangsters from the S2 gang that came here. Indeed 4 years after the fact? Gangster from London found with a child and gun in Dundee. Funny thing is ? I exposed what was happening to every single authority possible. They took the information and let me and my family in that community to be targeted over and over again by local organised crime. Knife crime in youths here? Fuelled by everything in this interview. But I’m afraid it is not singular to race in the current social and economic circumstances.

[@kala-adaidakariopusunju6809]

Excuse me just curious what was the ethnicities of these people?

[@SharonMcwilliams78]

@@kala-adaidakariopusunju6809 I live in Scotland. In a predominantly white area. All crimes initiated including the stabbings were initiated by local organised crime ( white ) connected to organised crime in south London ( mixed race / black ). Since pandemic children as young as 14 are being initiated into organised crime. Supported and enabled by families / community and those tasked with supporting vulnerable communities. It’s a mess here and our youth are collateral damage. Anyone speaking out ? Is targeted. Horrific. Police , CID …even mainstream know what’s happening here but tout corrupt information to hide how bad the issues are. I am making media about it. When organised crime found out ? Sighted for court ? They attacked my dog with Acid…the only acid attack in my city in the last 5 years..police refused to even take statements for it. It’s bad….really bad.

[@colinnicholson2954]

Trevor Philips a black presenter has said many time that the problem is the family breakdown in West Indian families whch is the route cause with young men growing up without fathers.

[@joss4074]

Ah man, these "youths" are so wildly over represented in violence. Someone better stop these "youths".

[@faithinnature147]

Akala is an exceptionally bright and articulate man. Piers Morgan is a horrible bully, whose entire interview technique is to shout people down/talk over them until they get flustered/lose their train of thought. That doesnt work here. He states he hears Akala's point on institutionalised racism, and then proves the exact opposite, over and over again. Its painful

[@coolgirl778iplaycallofduty5]

Keep pushing the Narrative‼️ we have the same issue in the U.S

[@GodmadeTrends]

This guy always deflects to Glasgow. We’re in London, and there’s a clear problem with knife crime in the black community. He just tells us what we like to hear, and panders to make us feel good. But the problems still remain, because he like other so called “black leaders” don’t want to face truth that we need to accept accountability for our own community. He views this problem from a victims mentality instead of facing reality. He’s either very delusional like a lot of people, or he’s purposely deflecting so he’s better received from the black community. These types of so called black voices are part of the reason things never change. Because he doesn’t want to accept accountability

[@dizmop]

you are completely correct I have said exactly the same thing about him

[@RolazProductions]

Dr. Akala

[@An-Alien-On-Earth]

We ALL know theres a link!

[@hearts4eunicex]

how can my skin colour affect my character and morals? that sounds so dumb, parenting, poverty and influence of people around you plays a big part in knife crime

[@nafeg3671]

Bro applied all the statistics over decades and pier still couldn’t leave the whole argument of race alone you could tell by the look on his face at the end he realises his voice falls on deaf ears

[@GodmadeTrends]

Statistics that suit his narrative. Even after all his pseudo intellectual talk. The fact still remains, there’s been a serious problem with violent crimes amongst ourselves in the black community

[@danjackson5180]

Perse's paymasters insisted he frame questions using black boys and knives. What a punk.

[@andljoy]

Its not about skin colour , its about culture. Compare the crime rate of African background to west Indian background.

[@usmcson3]

Definitely a link between the two.

[@wdyrm]

Did you even listen to the video? Yeah there's a link but not for the reasons your peabrain thinks

[@usmcson3]

@LapKidProductions oh, man im sorry you also have low iq. Keep your head up tho bro! We still love your goofy head

[@elias560]

so glasgow,liverpool, and the rural areas of the u.k with the highest crime and white crime is what exactlly?

[@kier1568]

I love the cognitive dissonance. Akala lays out the stats in a clear and compelling way and there's always the inevitable knee-jerk "nah, you're wrong, even though I've got no evidence and you have" comments

[@usmcson3]

@kier1568 you're a weird one huh? Use Google and do some research.

[@michaelfraser5723]

it links itself TO RACE

[@dablackangel]

I love Akala ❤

[@GairikGhosh]

Why no mention of single parent families and absent father figures?

[@Allinyo]

Because that ties into the school to prison pipeline of the west and a akaila didn't have enough time to explain it before Piers would inevitably cut him off a million times or disregard everything he says just so he can go back to implying that black people are inherently violent..despite the UK and the West having the most violent and blood soaked history on the planet

[@GodmadeTrends]

Because that means he has to admit to some accountability instead of deflecting

[@spyk_316]

Because you are confusing the US (From the feeds shown to you on YT😅) from the UK In the UK the reality is far different

[@Yezba17M]

cc

[@ibnmuhammad4851]

Peirs talkin his rubbish as always and then gets put in his place

[@mnnh1]

He had trouble getting past the idea that the crimes committed by these people is no way linked to their blackness, but admitted that he would never consider the role of race when trying to explain the rates of knife crime in Glasgow. It’s a form of cognitive dissonance arising from the denial that stabbings committed by white kids in Glasgow have very similar causation to those perpetrated by black kids in London

[@marcusjacques837]

One of the first times Piers has actually let a guest speak, and you can see he wasn't prepared for how eloquent and knowledgeable Akala was going to be. Great to watch a perspective be changed in real time

[@gtrdxz]

Per capita

[@MountRushCollymore]

Interesting but a lot of smoke and mirrors from him. States a few examples in other cities to shock rather than any statistics.

[@tristangriffiths7998]

Ah very well done, meandering around the truth

[@skenguin]

clearly didn’t listen to a single thing he said then did you tristan or is your comprehensive level really that low

[@wdyrm]

Aye I'm fairly sure Tristan couldn't grasp the concepts Akala discussed. I'm sure he's much happier believing there's nothing more to it than violent black people killing each other.

[@georgia8448]

what is the truth?

[@MrTravisBickle]

Akala has more wisdom than piers.

[@arthurmorgan8529]

Piers isn't there to be wise lol

[@tonystone10K]

Almost everyone who comes on there has more wisdom than Piers.

[@anibrown5374]

Perhaps contempt for 'rap' life which aggressively externalised that so-called internalised self-hatred? We all at some time suffer from not feeling good enough but not all of us chose to spread it around.

[@Pettsvaldo]

Not all rap does, not all grime or drill does either.

[@anibrown5374]

what other 'popular' music spawned an aggressively murderous sub-culture based on social misery and disrespect? Blues, country, rock, folk, even punk, writing about life and love and death but not killing each other.@@Pettsvaldo

[@Pettsvaldo]

​@@anibrown5374you said "not all of us", I'm simply saying "not all of them either". It's not about rap.

[@NoContextRDH]

Comparing Glasgow vs London for youth violence. Now compare how homogenous both cities are 😂

[@Nee-vk7zz]

London is one of the most diverse cities in the world, 36% white british, 20% asian, 13% black, and loads of other ethnicities Homocide rate per 100k: 1.3 Glasgow is 88% white, so pretty homogeneous homicide rate per 100k: 3.1 Glasgow’s figure was way higher back in the 1990s and 2000s as Akala mentioned, which made it the murder capital of Europe, while London has remained the same for decades Even more so Manchester, 75% white and homicide rate :12 per 100k, also being higher in the past

[@bigcreator]

I have this perception that Glasgow's problem was gang wars and that if you was going to work you would never be caught up in it, where as in London we have school girls being stabbed in the neck and young boys who are mistaken identity cases or in the wrong post code, stabbings for phones and even random stabbings ect is there any truth in that? @@Nee-vk7zz

[@coolgirl778iplaycallofduty5]

Even as Akala gives all the facts and breaks down the psychological aspect big media still points to blackness comical‼️ And highly disappointing

[@stuartcomrie4277]

Akala is the truth

[@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr]

15% of all murder in UK involves a Black culprit. 50% of all homicides in London are committed by Black culprits. England is only 3% Black. London is 13% Black. Nobody ever brings up per capita statistics in these debates.

[@michaelfraser5723]

DEFINE TRUTH, SILLY MAN

[@kevonedon6872]

​@@michaelfraser5723shush

[@michaelfraser5723]

@@kevonedon6872 no

[@GodmadeTrends]

Akala tells you what you wanna hear but dresses it up as truth. But he’s like an agent, he’ll make you feel good, while not providing any solutions. These kind of people are dangerous, because he will never tell us to be accountable, instead he’ll deflect and blame everything else. The end result is our problems continue or get worse, while he’s still revered as a hero. Because he speaks the “truth”.

[@rezlaso2742]

Piers cutting people off as usual lol

[@Dabes88]

Oh ky days struggle bug

[@AllCelebritiesSite]

I come here because rumour say he is dating Angelina Jolie.

[@HiveMind-qv1iy]

Absent fathers

[@ac-qd2cg]

I lietened to all of that and he didnt explain why less than 20% of the population is responsible for the majority of the knife crime. Id genuinly like to know the answer. If its nothing to do with race then what is the reason ?

[@jesuschavira5182]

Poverty

[@Pettsvaldo]

he did, you clearly weren't listening very well.

[@ac-qd2cg]

@@Pettsvaldo you heard what you wanted to hear. He didn't answer anything

[@Drummajortsu]

@@ac-qd2cgHis facts about Glasgow and the countless white on white knife crimes out of London just slipped your memory?

[@GodmadeTrends]

@@Drummajortsudeflecting to Glasgow, when we’re talking about a serious problem in London doesn’t answer the question or solve anything. He then talks about British Nigerian & Ghanaian kids doing better than white kids in school, which probably has some truth to it. But just goes to show, it’s more of a cultural problem within the black British Caribbean community more than anything. Although it is becoming a bit more apparent within the black British African community as it intermingles.

[@MadeInPoland182]

Serious question from a Non-British person. When Akala was said to not be middle class, where exactly was he placed in the social hierarchy? Upper class? Or was he pigeonholed as a lower/working class based on his background/skin colour?

[@Pettsvaldo]

Akala is/was lower-middle class, I'd say - elements of proper grimy working class roots as well as elements of middle class upbringing. Class is such a messy subject to try to pull apart - income, education, where you grew up, your parents - and it's increasingly a continuum. If someone were to argue that Morgan was implying Akala wasn't middle class just because he was black, I wouldn''t necessarily disagree (I think he would probably argue that he's just trying to be a voice of the "man on the street" - whether he's genuine in that or not is another topic altogether) but what Morgan says/means is not the same as what others would say and certainly isn't a truth. I'd argue it's not hugely helpful to think in terms of class and the fact that Morgan uses the paradigms backs up that argument, I feel.

[@faithinnature147]

He was actually in the bottom 1% social economically growing up ... Thats working class. I would say now that he's likely upper middle. But the class system doesn't really work in the same way (except on ££ only) for celebs - its a strange anomaly. I think its VITAL we discuss 'class' and more importantly how a lack of ££ impacts your experiences. @pettsvaldo

[@Pettsvaldo]

@@faithinnature147 I agree that a lack of ££ enormously impacts experiences, opportunities, development. I just think discussing such things through the prism of class provides too many opportunities for the conversation to end up in pointless cul-de-sacs. It is distracting from the true issues of inequality of opportunity to get dragged into trying the quantify the difference between working class or lower middle class.

[@faithinnature147]

I mean its semantics to a degree? People with no access to money/opportunities historically were working class ... They could be called 'socio economically the lower 20%' - or whatever, really@@Pettsvaldo

[@Pettsvaldo]

@@faithinnature147 It can be just a case of semantics, yes - but, in my experience, being clear is really important; especially when engaging with people (like Morgan) who are more than happy with discussing in bad faith. As Akala so strongly demonstrates in this video, being very precise is vital.

[@colinpeck8257]

Well the Chinese arn't stabbing each other...

[@dylan120190]

You just proved his point, the social indicators he said are not common in that community.

[@GodmadeTrends]

@@dylan120190what social indicators? He actually contradicted himself. When he spoke about Ghana being one of the poorest yet peaceful in the world. Now he’s using it as an excuse, all he does is deflect to other places to try skate around the facts that we black people need to accept accountability for this problem and stop trying to compare it to other cities or act as if it’s not actually what it’s being made out to be. Knife and gun crime has been a serious problem within the community for a few decades and it’s getting worse. People like a Akala just tell us what we wanna hear so he can be accepted, instead of being brutally honest

[@Dabes88]

Ising 5 years rhis thing is evil

[@nB90GGF]

He deflects a lot - I wish he could be more honest Akala

[@GodmadeTrends]

So glad you see it. Akala, fools the average person but he’s not a realist at all, and he’s definitely intelligent enough to know that

[@user-pj8ed8il9s]

why is he wearing that silly hat???? should of worn a suit

[@josephswain-pr4uz]

Peirs listens to what Akala says then asks if its a black problem AGAIN what a joke he is

[@michaelfraser5723]

BEWARE FALSE PROPHETS

[@alexplace4628]

what does this mean?

[@allnigther]

Translation beware of any black man who speaks knowledge. That's more worrying than the one carrying the knife to some.

[@GodmadeTrends]

@@allnigtherno, you actually have to be aware of false prophets. What might seem as speaking knowledge to you, but to others with discernment he’s just an agent that tells you what you want to hear, rather than being honest and holding us accountable.

[@saturnteatree]

Piers is ridiculous 🥴

[@NoContextRDH]

Yet another that has never heard of proportionality.

[@Delboy_Tokyo]

He’s so pathetic

[@jameskirton3168]

Black Russel Brand

[@femmebridal6710]

Why its always the skinny black guy who stabs

[@dondraper2488]

Yeah,this aged like milk….

[@7QHook]

linked to isl*m

[@jackcough2206]

Where is there a peaceful black-led nation with a space program?

[@liquidportnoy]

It's the one that never got colonised and oppressed by whites.

[@Mspenguinproductions]

Lol because america with nasa is a peaceful nation? More gun deaths than anywhere else and the only place where children can be shot while in school .

[@kier1568]

Africa is naturally the richest continent on Earth and has been plundered for centuries. The only other black nations were founded after slave colonies sized their freedom in the Carribbean. What a simple and terrible argument.

[@jimkowalski3395]

Where is there a peaceful white-led nation with a space program?

[@gtrdxz]

So no space program? Africa is so rich and yet it cant resist plundering, funny how that works.@@kier1568

[@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr]

The more people give platforms to guys like Akala, the higher the crime rates will soar. Progressive soft-on-crime politics always leads to worse crime in your city, bottom-line.

[@hakeemyaylo8804]

Zero sense plus evidence to illustrate the contrary that being tough on crime mitigates or drastically reduces crime is slim to none looking at crime holistically has promising outcomes

[@hakeemyaylo8804]

If being tough on crime, actually worked the why has crime gone down over the past years broadly speaking the highest incarceration rates highest police injustices amongst other things yet we’re still number one in crime

[@wdyrm]

You gonna provide some facts for your argument "coolhandlukeskywalker"? Cause everything I've read says that there is fucking zero evidence to support your claims, and locking up half the countries population has no effect on crimerate

[@kier1568]

No it doesn't. Mountains of evidence suggests the opposite. Can you show me a single example of harsher sentences or punitive prisons reducing criminal offences?

[@hakeemyaylo8804]

@@kier1568 faxxxx

[@minenhlemadlala2837]

lol this Piers guy never wants to speak to Akala again🤣🤣🤣

[@GodmadeTrends]

You’d be surprised, they probably work together as controlled opposites. They get both sides going at each other, but nothing gets solved or improves. Win win for the powers that be..

[@dannyletts4716]

Ignoring the problem

[@dannyletts4716]

This kid Is ridiculous

[@Jb-db5kj]

Akala got such a wonderfully intelligent mind I, admire his ability to speak thoughtfully and calmly so much.