A New York City jury has found Nathaniel Glover — better known as Kidd Creole of seminal hip-hop group The Furious Five — guilty of manslaughter for a 2017 stabbing incident, reports Billboard. Glover was accused of stabbing a homeless man, John Jolly, in the chest with a steak knife in 2017 after Jolly asked him “What’s up?” Glover, who was walking to his maintenance job, believed that the man was hitting on him and attacking him.
Glover’s lawyer Scottie Celestin tried to frame the attack as self-defense, asking, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is New York City. It’s 12 o’clock at night. Who’s saying ‘What’s up?’ to you with good intentions? His fear for his life was reasonable.” Celestin also attempted to blame Jolly’s death on sedatives that he was given during treatment at the hospital rather than his stab wounds.
Unfortunately, the jury did not believe that the former rapper was in danger. While the final verdict of manslaughter is a step down from the original charge of murder, Kidd Creole can be sentenced to up to 25 years in prison as well as fined. His sentencing was set for May 4.
As a member of Grandmaster Flash and The Furious Five, Kidd Creole was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007 along with the rest of the group. They were the first rap act to be inducted. Their 1982 hit “The Message” is considered one of hip-hop’s first-ever “conscious rap” songs and is a classic that has been referenced repeatedly throughout the years. Co-writer Edward Fletcher, aka Duke Bootee, died last year at the age of 69.
