Rapper Ghetts pleads guilty to fatal hit-and-run

Award-winning rapper Ghetts has pleaded guilty to causing the death of a young man in a hit-and-run collision.

The grime artist, whose real name is Justin Clarke-Samuel, failed to stop after his BMW hit 20-year-old Yubin Tamang in north-east London.

On Monday, Clarke-Samuel, 41, who appeared at the Old Bailey via videolink from Pentonville Prison, pleaded guilty to causing Mr Tamang’s death by dangerous driving on 18 October 2025.

He also pleaded guilty to a charge of dangerous driving when he was at the wheel of a BMW M5 in Tavistock Place and other London roads in Camden, Islington and Hackney on the same day.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC told Clarke-Samuel “the only sentence to be passed is a custodial sentence” but the length of his jail term has yet to be determined.

He is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on February 12.

Clarke-Samuel, who is in custody, was disqualified from driving with immediate effect but the length of the ban has yet to be fixed.

He also faces two charges which are set to be dealt with at his next court appearance.

This includes a charge of causing death by careless driving when over the limit for alcohol.

It is alleged he was over the prescribed limit as he drove with 119 microgrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath on October 18, the charge states.

Clarke-Samuel also faces a further dangerous driving charge.

It is alleged he dangerously drove a BMW M5 on Worcester Crescent and other roads in Redbridge, east London, on the same day.

Mr Tamang was an only child and his parents had sent him to the UK to receive an education.

Ghetts is a rapper and songwriter who has collaborated on tracks with Skepta, Stormzy and Ed Sheeran, and performed at Glastonbury multiple times including in 2024.

He won best male act at the 2021 Mobo Awards and received the Mobo pioneer award in 2024.