Krept & Konan reveal why they never considered rejecting the Queen’s Honours

Krept & Konan ‘hadn’t even thought’ to reject the Queen’s Honours when they received a British Empire Medal (BEM). The rap duo — made up of Casyo Valentine ‘Krept’ Johnson and Karl Dominic ‘Konan’ Wilson – were recognised in 2020 for their extensive activism. They’ve worked hard for their communities, from founding a charity to help kids off the streets to opening a new supermarket, Saveways, tailored to the needs of Black, Asian and ethnic communities.

Not to mention the time they spoke in the Houses of Parliament against the criminalisation of drill music, a subgenre of British rap known for violent lyrics. Casyo and Karl, both 33, have spent most of their music careers with an eye on the social-political climate so some were surprised when they did not reject the BEM. ‘We hadn’t even thought about it,’ Konan told the Independent. ‘It just felt like someone paying recognition to our hard work.

Their early collaborator George the Poet, 34, had previously rejected similar awards in protest of the British empire. He continued: ‘It’s something we can show our kids. George the Poet is justified in their reasons, but for us we’re just trying to get as much flowers as we can while we’re here.’. George was offered an MBE — Member of the Order of the British Empire — which he addressed on his BBC Sounds series Have You Heard George’s Podcast?.

In 2019, he shared: ‘I’d like to apologise to the friend who recommended me on my assurance that I’d accept, I didn’t know I would feel this way. ‘I see myself as student, admirer and friend of Britain, however, the colonial trauma inflicted on the children of Africa, entrenched across our geo-political and macro-economic realities, prevents me from accepting the title Member of the British Empire.’.

He asked that Britain take ‘institutional measures’ to confront the ‘intergenerational disruption’ brought by colonialism and the Empire. ‘I have no issue with other black people who have embraced this title, I encourage variety of thought across our society and within my community,’ the spoken word artist added. ‘I encourage future generations to seek the relevant information to make an informed decision. What do the words British Empire mean to you? I love this country but I do so with transparency.’.

George worked with Krept & Konan and provided the intro and outro for their first mixtape, Young Kingz. Young Kingz dropped in 2013 and broke records as the highest-charting UK release by an unsigned act. They then cemented their success with the top 10 track Freak of the Week, from their debut album The Long Way Home, which also peaked at number two. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video.

Up Next. Their brand new mixtape Young Kingz II is a long-awaited follow-up to this original release, although George has not returned. Music is by no means taking a back seat as their activism continues to ramp up though as they hope Saveways can become a collaborative space. ‘We have this one store now,’ Krept previously told Metro. ‘But the aim is to have multiple stores and be able to set this up in different communities, and who knows, we might be able to get other artists or musicians or people from other communities to invest or set up their own maybe if we franchise one day.

‘We want this to be a brand and a place that everybody just recognises.’. Got a story?. If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you. Arrow MORE: Drill rapper jailed for murder earns £100s for song he recorded behind bars.