End of the Blade

**End of the Blade** is a crime drama about the tragic tale of two young friends involved in the rap game who find themselves becoming enemies in a violent and insidious gang war.

## Characters

### Cashel "Roadboy" Mitchell

Portrayed by Michael Ward, Cashel Mitchell is one of the two protagonists. He was the best friend of Tyler and a young rapper who lived in Peckham, London, being the ringleader of the rap group "Death Sentence" alongside his friends Tyler, Calvin Turner, Sheldon Griffin and Brandon Reynolds Jr.. He was the most intelligent, level-headed and calmest of his group, as well as a charismatic youth who was highly ambitious and loyal to his friends. Cashel grew up in a rough neighborhood but did not join up with any street gangs, instead he chose to pursue a better life and he eventually befriended Tyler Young whom he tried to help to get out of his criminal lifestyle. Cashel and Tyler got involved in rapping together, to the point of becoming very talented musical artists and together founded the rap group "Death Sentence" alongside their other friends, becoming one of England's most prominent and inspiring rappers. Cashel and Tyler's close friendship became stronger as they became very successful and wealthy musicians, however they became targeted by thuggish Cold-Blooded Records boss High-Hanger. The events that transpired resulted in Cashel being forced to join Cold-Blooded Records and became High-Hanger's most successful labeled rapper, but his relationship worsened with Tyler violently and a fight on a party boat accidentally caused his girlfriend Tegen Whitmore's death. After Tegen's death due to the boat crash, Cashel was remorseful but became a more hardened and bitter enemy when Tyler re-joined his old street gang and attacked Cashel with a knife, but accidentally stabbed his sister Whitney which left her confined to a wheelchair and unable to walk. From that point forward, Cashel vengefully joined the opposing gang Ghetto Thugz and became a much more villainous individual whose main goal was to kill Tyler in revenge.

Cashel was born in Peckham

### Tyler "Baby Thug" Young

Portrayed by Jumayn Hunter, Tyler Young is one of the two protagonists. He was the best friend of Cashel Mitchell and a young rapper who lived in Deptford, London, being a founding member of the rap group "Death Sentence" alongside his friends Cashel, Calvin Turner, Sheldon Griffin and Brandon Reynolds Jr.. He was a rather repulsive and rash thug who was involved in selling drugs and was a DSC (Deptford Shank Crew) gang member before he founded "Death Sentence" alongside Cashel. Tyler's childhood was very hard because his father was killed in a gang-related incident and his mother was very abusive towards him, driving him to join the DSC street gang to make money and his violent crimes included selling drugs and various knife crimes. However, he befriended Cashel Mitchell who turned his life around for the better and they became very successful and talented rappers who went on to form "Death Sentence". Tyler and Cashel's close friendship became stronger with their wealth and fame, however they became targeted by vicious Cold-Blooded Records boss High-Hanger. The events that transpired resulted in Tyler being threatened and attacked by High-Hanger and Tyler wrongfully believed that Cashel wanted it to happen and was actually working with High-Hanger, worsening their relationship violently and they fought on a party boat which resulted in it crashing and killing his girlfriend Tegen Whitmore. After this, Tyler mourned his girlfriend and hated Tyler to the point of wanting to vengefully murder him, but the attempt on Cashel's life resulted in his sister Whitney getting stabbed and left unable to walk for the rest of her life. From that point forward, Tyler and Cashel became bitter enemies as Tyler re-joined the DSC and Cashel joined their rival gang Ghetto Thugz to engage in a brutal war throughout London.

Tyler was born in Deptford in a neighborhood noted for high crime rates and gang activity. He had an abusive father and he dropped out of school, supporting himself by joining the Deptford Shank Crew (DSC) and he mainly sold drugs and was a thuggish criminal. He grew up in a dangerous place but his gang affiliation gave Tyler a "thug" reputation and was backed by the DSC, granting him a certain level of protection.

### Calvin "Black Doc" Turner

Portrayed by John Boyega, Calvin Turner is a main character. He was a friend of Tyler Young and Cashel Mitchell who co-founded "Death Sentence" and was a good and loyal rapper to his friends. He was the oldest member of the group and he grew up in a rough neighborhood like the other DS members, and while he did not join a gang, he did witness horrific and violent crimes being committed such as his father getting attacked and nearly killed while he was forced to watch. He eventually went on to became friends with Cashel and Tyler, joining their rap group after managing to impress them with his lyrical ability and talent. When they became successful and famous, the rappers were targeted by Cold-Blooded Studios. Calvin attempted to get out of the violent situation, and he ended up becoming a solo rapper and remained neutral.

Calvin was born in Peckham

### Sheldon "African DJ" Griffin

Portrayed by Kadeem Ramsay, Sheldon Griffin is a main character. He was a member of Death Sentence and a rapper who was mainly friends with Cashel Mitchell prior to joining his rap group. He became successful and wealthy like the rest of the rappers, though they were targeted by High-Hanger. He remained loyal to Cashel throughout the gang war and joined up with the Ghetto Thugz alongside his friend. He was a very comedic and relatively easygoing guy in the group, being the most friendly of the rap group and he cares about his friends and is willing to help them out if he can. Sheldon also cares about his sick mother, who he looks after using the money he gains from rapping.

Sheldon was born in Peckham

### Brandon "OG Juicy" Reynolds Jr.

Portrayed by Harley-Alexander Sule, Brandon Reynolds Jr. is a main character. He was a member of Death Sentence and he was a member of the DSC and was Tyler Young's loyal friend. He became successful and wealthy like the rest of the rappers, though they were targeted by High-Hanger. He stuck to Tyler's side throughout the gang war and re-joined the DSC alongside him. Brandon was part of the gang since childhood much like Tyler, being involved in selling drugs and he has even killed people in knife-related violent attacks, notably a rival Ghetto Thugz member whom Brandon had stabbed on the orders of another gang member.

Brandon was born in Deptford

### Jamel "High-Hanger" King

Portrayed by Michael Ebanezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr., Jamel King is one of the main antagonists. He was a music executive who was the founder and CEO of Cold-Blooded Records and was a central figure in the events that tore apart Death Sentence and turned the rappers against each other. High-Hanger was a vicious thug who ran his business like a gang, and he had criminal ties with the Ghetto Thugz and employed their members as enforcers and hitmen to apply intimidation and violence as a brutal strategy for business dealings. Before his involvement with Death Sentence, High-Hanger's most prominent musician was Corey Woods but his music studio and business was failing due to Death Sentence's prominence on the scene. An angered but scheming High-Hanger started targeting Death Sentence and planned to use his fear tactics to force DS member Cashel Mitchell to join his studio by using members of the Ghetto Thugz street gang.

High-Hanger was born in Peckham where he had a tough childhood and was a member of the Ghetto Thugz, eventually managing to become a high-ranking member of the gang and was very respected. However, at some point he left the gang life to pursue a career in football however this failed after an incident which involved High-Hanger "accidentally" breaking another footballer's leg. As an adult, High-Hanger formed his own record label, Cold-Blooded Records, and his first profit was in the business came when Corey "Doggy Don" Woods agreed to sign over royalties from his smash hit "Bad Bitches", because the song included material allegedly written by one of High-Hanger's clients. High-Hanger and his henchmen paid a visit to Corey's apartment, where they dangled him by his ankles off the balcony and threatened to kill him and his family. From that point forward, Corey signed a contract which had him work for Cold-Blooded Studios and would be utterly terrified of High-Hanger, doing anything the thug says. For the next few years, High-Hanger's business was good and he even managed to sign other rappers to his label, but his most prominent and successful rapper was Corey. Though mainly due to the fact that the new rap group "Death Sentence" came onto the scene and out shined Corey and many of High-Hanger's other rappers, his record label was dropping in business and High-Hanger was losing money. He planned to target "Death Sentence" to force its lead rapper Cashel Mitchell into sign his label in hopes of being able to run his business very successfully again.

Through his rappers Jonah "Ice Cold" Knight and Mickey "The M.A.N.," Shanko, High-Hanger managed to privately arrange a meeting with Cashel in an attempt to persuade him into signing up to his record label by promising him grand amounts of wealth, success and fame, as well as becoming a member of "London's most powerful family". However, Cashel refused his offer and he always sticks with his crew loyally. High-Hanger pretended to be accepting of Cashel's decision and he let him go, even wishing him apparent good luck on his future health. However, when Cashel left, High-Hanger planned to work dirty and arranged to meet with some members of the Ghetto Thugz to help him. High-Hanger sends a group of henchmen to kidnap Death Sentence manager, Philip R. Hall, and hold him prisoner in a van and he managed to persuade Tyler Young, Cashel's friend and another DS member and the one who could sign away Cashel, to meet him in his music studio apparently to meet Cashel about a business arrangement. When Tyler arrived, he was ambushed by Ghetto Thugz gang members and locked in the room. High-Hanger greeted Tyler and was armed with a baseball bat to intimidate him, demanding he release Cashel from his contract. Tyler stubbornly refused to and he even insulted High-Hanger fearlessly, causing a henchman to retaliate by punching him in the face. This angered Tyler who attacked and managed to knock out the thug, but was tackled and held by the other Ghetto Thugz to allow High-Hanger to beat up Tyler with his bat. High-Hanger then reveals footage of Philip being held hostage by the Ghetto Thugz and threatens to kill him if he chooses to not cooperate, causing a bloodied and bruised Tyler to apparently fall in line which makes High-Hanger sadistically smile and he gives him a pen to sign the contract with gleefully. However, it is revealed that Tyler gave High-Hanger a different signature to try to get out of the situation and not rip apart Death Sentence. High-Hanger initially believed Tyler was complying, but found out at the last moment that Tyler was trying to trick him. High-Hanger backhands Tyler in the face in retaliation and he pulls a gun on him, ordering his henchmen to murder the bound and gagged Philip with the drill. When the henchmen were about to kill Philip, Tyler agreed to High-Hanger's terms and he signed the contract this time, thus saving Philip's life at the cost of ruining Death Sentence. High-Hanger ordered his thugs to release Philip from captivity and mentioned to Tyler that he knows where his family lives, as well as his girlfriend Tegan Whitmore's, threatening their safety should Tyler interfere with his business or seek revenge on him in some way. Tyler then left the studio in pain and angry over what happened as well as greatly concerned for his own future and the safety of his loved ones, while High-Hanger laughed with his henchmen over his victory and tells everyone that he will be hosting a dinner in celebration at his home, to which he will be inviting Cashel to. High-Hanger also orders Corey to make Cashel feel comfortable in his "new family", as well as keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't do anything he will regret.

High-Hanger sent his bodyguard, Stev-O "Mass" Kirby, to inform Cashel of the news and that he is invited to a "family dinner" he is hosting at his home. Initially, Cashel was shocked and angry over what happened and talked to Tyler about it, telling Tyler that he will not work for High-Hanger and that he will somehow set things right so they can get back on track again. Cashel made attempts to find a way out of the contract and arranged a meeting with the other "Death Sentence" members to talk solutions for the incident, to which Tyler suggests that they kill High-Hanger, much to the rest of (except for OG Juicy) group's shock, and Cashel manages to convince Tyler not to go through with his plan to murder High-Hanger despite his death threats and violent actions. They also turned down the solution of legally taking down High-Hanger, leading to Cashel suggesting another plan; frame High-Hanger for a crime to get him sent to prison for a long time. Cashel and Tyler managed to acquire a gun from their friend and rapper Jonah "Ice Cold" Knight, planting it in High-Hanger's home and planned to have the police anonymously contacted to frame High-Hanger and arrest him. At the dinner party, High-Hanger welcomed Cashel into his "family" and even made a toast to him joining his label. However, it was revealed High-Hanger was aware of the scheme to frame him and claimed that the gun had been disposed of, much to Cashel's horror. High-Hanger takes delight in telling Cashel about this in front of the other rappers and bodyguards, until the police stormed in and searched the house but came up with nothing and High-Hanger was clean. After the police officers departed, High-Hanger adjourned the meeting between his rappers with the exception of Cashel, who was stopped at the door by High-Hanger's henchmen. High-Hanger explains to Cashel that he owns him now and that Cashel needs to forget about his old crew and think about his future, because what happens to him is now determined by High-Hanger. Cashel makes an attempt to stand up to High-Hanger, but this only leads to enraging High-Hanger who has his boys grab hold him of whilst he pulls out a knife and threatens Cashel with it. High-Hanger also threatens to kill Cashel's family and ruin the careers and lives of his Death Sentence members, before feigning to cut off Cashel's hand with the blade. Cashel is pushed to begging High-Hanger to stop and is broken into falling in line and doing as the thug says, pleasing High-Hanger who forces Cashel to repeat compliant words after him but Cashel does not initially listen due to being too traumatized, causing High-Hanger to backhand Cashel and shout at him to speak when he is spoken to. After this lesson, High-Hanger says he's going to get a drink and smoke some marijuana while his henchmen "keep him busy". On High-Hanger's orders, the thugs beat up Cashel, burn him with a hot iron and even taser him into unconsciousness before dropping him off near his house.

From that point on, Cashel becomes High-Hanger's "bitch" and he works for the man as well as collaborates with other rappers signed to his label such as Corey. Despite Cashel being forced to work for High-Hanger and having to leave "Death Sentence" (leading to the rap group's downfall), Cashel comes to enjoy his life of success and wealth from High-Hanger's label as well as even gaining power and gang connections to protect him thanks to High-Hanger's affiliation with the Ghetto Thugz. High-Hanger's heinous and greedy actions resulted in "Death Sentence" drifting apart and effectively stomping out the rap group that was threatening High-Hanger's business, which led to Tyler coming to falsely believe that Cashel was actually working with High-Hanger from the beginning discreetly to become a more successful rapper while eliminating the competition; Tyler and the other members of Death Sentence. This worsened the relationship between Cashel and Tyler drastically, to the point of the two rappers putting out diss-tracks against each other, which also included Tyler publicly insulting High-Hanger and his record label as well as Cashel. In revenge, Tyler and Brandon "OG Juicy" Reynolds Jr. vandalized Cashel's car. High-Hanger, not a man to let an insult go, ordered Cashel to meet him in his music studio where he addressed that Tyler is becoming a problem, to which Cashel agreed with but he is confident that his career will fall soon. However, High-Hanger tells Cashel it is time to "man up" and gives him a gun, ordering him to kill Tyler and that he will continue to take care of him and his family. Cashel makes an attempt to back out of the murder plot, but High-Hanger tells him that if they allow Tyler to get away with his actions and insults against him and his label, this will damage his reputation which is something he cannot allow. When Cashel continues to negotiate, High-Hanger attacks Cashel aggressively and threatens him if he carries on defying his will. Out of options if he wants to protect his family and career, Cashel accepts High-Hanger's orders and takes the gun home with the haunting thoughts that he may have to kill someone who was once his best friend and like a brother to him.

Discovering that Cashel did not follow his direct orders, High-Hanger arranged for Mass to kidnap Cashel's sister, Whitney, and hold her hostage in a secret location. High-Hanger then sends a photo of the tied up and gagged Whitney to Cashel's phone, saying he has twenty four hours to murder Tyler or his sister will die. A greatly terrified and concerned Cashel promises that he kill High-Hanger if he hurts her emotionally, giving in to his demands and he says he will kill Tyler. Learning the following night that Tyler is at a boat party, Cashel sneaks onto the boat with the gun determined to save his sister but finds it hard to kill someone, especially Tyler. Cashel manages to get Tyler alone on the boat roof, who is overjoyed because of the news that his girlfriend is pregnant and that they are going to marry, but Cashel holds Tyler at gunpoint and surprises him. Cashel tries to explain to Tyler that High-Hanger is holding his sister hostage and that he had been ordered to kill him, though Tyler believes Cashel is lying and that he is now High-Hanger's lying "bitch". Tyler and Cashel continue to argue, until a fight breaks out between both men and the gun is knocked out of Cashel's hand. The man behind controlling the boat tried to intervene, though was accidentally knocked out by Tyler and this causes the boat to lose control and crash. Both Cashel and Tyler manage to survive the boat crash, though the pregnant Whitney was killed despite Tyler and Cashel's attempts to desperately find and save her life. Afterwards, Cashel was greatly remorseful over what happened and tried to apologize and console Tyler, though an emotional Tyler furiously rejects Cashel's apology and promises his former friend that he's going to kill both him and High-Hanger before letting Tyler go out of sympathy and the shock of the recent events.

Cashel reports what happened to High-Hanger. High-Hanger accepts the fact that Whitney died because of Cashel's actions and that this has hurt Tyler and "taught him a lesson", so he agrees to release Whitney from his custody and he gives him her location. Cashel realizes Tyler has lost everything and that he's going to go after both him and High-Hanger in revenge, something he worries about and starts drinking alcohol. Afterwards, the war between Cashel and Tyler begins and Tyler re-joins the DSC alongside Brandon whilst Cashel is backed up by the Ghetto Thugz, High-Hanger and his friends Corey, former DS member Sheldon "African DJ" Griffin, Jonah "Ice Cold" Knight and Mickey "The M.A.N." Shanko. During their war, Cashel's sister, Whitney, is accidentally shot by Tyler when he was aiming for Cashel during an ambush. This resulted in Whitney being hospitalized and unable to walk for the rest of her life, being left paraplegic and this left Cashel thirsty of revenge despite Whitney trying to make him realize that he needs to stop before anyone else, including himself, gets hurt.

At some point, High-Hanger discovers that one of his rappers, Jerry "Chief Beef" Stack, had been stealing money from him and is actually a "snake" affiliated with the DSC. In front of his other rappers and members of the Ghetto Thugz, High-Hanger gives a switchblade to Cashel and orders him to punish Jerry and even tells him that, because of the information he supplied, Whitney was shot. An enraged Cashel stabs Jerry in the stomach three times before stabbing him in the neck, killing the traitor because he imagined him to be Tyler. High-Hanger sadistically smiles and is proud of Cashel, telling him he did a "good job" and that he promises they will kill Tyler and the rest of the DSC members. However throughout the gang war and rivalry, High-Hanger thought more about his music business and saw that the diss track war between Cashel and the Ghetto Thugz and Tyler and the DSC were too profitable to not exploit, so he tried to persuade Cashel not to kill Tyler and instead settle for his friend, Brandon. Cashel stubbornly refused and admitted that he does not care about the money anymore, because all he can think about is revenge. When High-Hanger starts getting angry, Cashel threatens High-Hanger because he is confident that he is now backed by the Ghetto Thugz for killing the DSC gang leader and that his music career is contributing to financing the gang's illegal operations, weapons and fronts. High-Hanger makes one final attempt to convince Cashel to not stand against him, saying that both his life and career is in his hands but Cashel disagrees. Cashel arrogantly tells High-Hanger that he and his record label is nothing without him; he will lose both his business and favor of the Ghetto Thugz should Cashel decide. Their argument ends with High-Hanger being left frustrated and angered, drinking alcohol and smoking weed that night while thinking of his next move to deal with Cashel before making a phone call to Mass.

High-Hanger has Mass murder Cashel's best friend, Sheldon, as punishment and threatens to have done the same to his family should Cashel cross him again. Believing he got his message across to Cashel, High-Hanger enjoys himself at a nightclub where he is having a business meeting with Philip regarding the diss-tracks and the profits they're both raking in from the war between their top rappers. Their meeting turns hostile when Philip reveals that he has a drive containing incriminating evidence against High-Hanger about his serious crimes and gang affiliation and uses that to try and get a better deal out of the meeting, something which frustrates High-Hanger. High-Hanger tells Philip that he will get a better deal if he gives him the evidence, which Philip laughs off saying he'll just go back on his word but High-Hanger makes the agreement with a contract which Philip is surprised by and agrees to it. High-Hanger sought to get out of the situation and exited the nightclub into a quiet and dark alleyway so he can think properly on what to do next, only to be confronted by Tyler at gunpoint. High-Hanger tries to reason with Tyler and tells him he'll forget about this incident as long as he walks away without a fight, otherwise, if gunshots are heard, Tyler will surely be killed by High-Hanger's men. Tyler exclaims that he has nothing anyway and wants to kill him and Cashel for ruining his life, so High-Hanger manages to work out a deal with Tyler: in exchange for Tyler managing to gather the evidence Philip has on him and hand it over, he will give up Cashel to him. Tyler reluctantly agrees to the deal after his initial shock, coming to realize that Philip was meeting High-Hanger behind his back and that they were both exploiting his bloody feud with Cashel for profit which angered him.

Predicting that Cashel would come after him to avenge Sheldon, High-Hanger set up a trap in his home where an armed Mass and Corey ambushed a vengeful Cashel and captured him, locking him up in the back of their van and leaving him in the open for Tyler. Meanwhile, High-Hanger met with Brandon who was apparently holding the incriminating evidence to give to High-Hanger. However, it was actually a trap for the DSC to come out and ambush High-Hanger, Mass and Corey. High-Hanger, having predicted a betrayal, called in Ghetto Thugz members to help them. A fight occurred between the DSC and Ghetto Thugz gangs, with High-Hanger being involved and he fought with Brandon. However Brandon used a knife to stab High-Hanger in the knee to wound him, but he dropped the evidence which Corey managed to pick up despite being caught in the middle of the fray. Corey refused to give the evidence to High-Hanger, making High-Hanger realizing that Corey is a traitor and a "snitch" undercover working for the police to build a case against him. High-Hanger tells Mass to pursue Corey and steal the evidence from him while still bleeding from his knife wound, but he managed to stay in the fight long enough to knock out Brandon by hitting him in the head with a brick and then fled the scene once the police arrived. Meanwhile, Mass failed to stop Corey and was shot dead in self-defense, allowing Corey to get away and turn in the evidence to the police.

Thanks to Corey's betrayal and the evidence granted to the police, High-Hanger's properties were raided and numerous members of the Ghetto Thugz and High-Hanger's criminal associates were arrested. High-Hanger made an attempt to flee from London with all his belongings and money but was caught by the police in the process and was arrested. High-Hanger was convicted of his numerous crimes which included bribery, assault, gang affiliation, kidnapping, possession of firearms, drug dealing and even murder and was sentenced to life in prison. High-Hanger's time in prison though did not last long, as his cellmate was revealed to be Tyler whom took his revenge finally and stabbed High-Hanger in the neck with a shiv, ending the life of the man who ruined his and Cashel's lives.

### Corey "Doggy Don" Woods

Portrayed by Jamie Adenuga, Corey Woods is a supporting character. He was a rapper who worked for Cold-Blooded Records and a Ghetto Thugz member who befriended Cashel Mitchell, acting as the liaison between High-Hanger and the Ghetto Thugz gang. Corey was a comedic young man who enjoyed smoking weed and he was a rather friendly guy, especially when he first met Cashel whom he respected. However, he was utterly terrified of his boss High-Hanger and was forced to stay loyal to his bullying boss. Eventually, Corey struck a deal with the police and he secretly worked with them while undercover in the criminal operation of High-Hanger and the Ghetto Thugz.

Corey was born in Brixton

### Tegen Whitmore

Portrayed by Karla-Simone Spence, Tegen Whitmore is a supporting character. She was the girlfriend of Tyler Young. Tegen deeply loves and cares about her boyfriend, something which Tyler recuperates and the two were once childhood friends in Deptford. She, alongside Cashel Mitchell, helped Tyler escape his gang life of senseless violence and selling illegal drugs while Tyler helped Tegen out by dealing with her abusive father and drug addiction.

Tegen was born in Deptford

### Philip R. Hall

Portrayed by Adam Woodyatt, Philip R. Hall is one of the main antagonists. He was a music manager and businessman who managed Death Sentence but he was responsible, alongside his business rival High-Hanger, for tearing apart Death Sentence and driving the rappers to become enemies towards each other. He mistreated and neglected everyone within the rap group except for Tyler Young, manipulating him and giving him a "father-figure" relationship in order to make as much money out of him as possible and take advantage of his lack of parenting.

Philip was born in Leeds

### Whitney Mitchell

Portrayed by Naomi Campbell, Whitney Mitchell is a supporting character. She was the sister of Cashel Mitchell.

Whitney was born in Peckham

### Jonah "Ice Cold" Knight

Portrayed by Andrew Onwubolu, Jonah Knight is a recurring character and he is a rapper who is labelled to Cold-Blooded Studios. He was a friend of Cashel Mitchell and collaborated with "Death Sentence" on many of their songs, but he closely worked for his boss High-Hanger as one of his most prominent rappers alongside Corey Woods and Mickey Shanko.

Jonah was born in Manchester

### Mickey "The M.A.N." Shanko

Portrayed by Christopher Hatherall, Mickey Shanko is a recurring character and he is a rapper who is labelled to Cold-Blooded Studios. He was a rapper who was signed up to Cold-Blooded Studios and he worked for the ruthless music executive High-Hanger as one of his most prominent rappers alongside Jonah Knight and Corey Woods.

Mickey was born in Kingston Upon Hull

### Stev-O "Mass" Kirby

Portrayed by Nicholas Pinnock, Stev-O Kirby is a major antagonist. He is High-Hanger's head of security and his main enforcer, typically carrying out the violence and intimidation tactics on High-Hanger's victims to get his boss what he desires.

Stev-O was born in Peckham and his mother was a model who neglected her son. Upon growing into an adult, he joined the U.S. Air Force and he eventually associated himself with music record label executive and gangster Jamel "High-Hanger" King. He was employed by High-Hanger as his personal bodyguard and head of security to the public, but in reality he served High-Hanger as his chief enforcer and hitman who willingly carried out violent crimes including murder on his orders. His first job for High-Hanger was shooting a drug dealer to death in his car because he refused to pay High-Hanger despite dealing drugs in the nightclub he frequently held his business dealings at, which was considered to be "owned" by High-Hanger and the Ghetto Thugz. He gained the street nickname "Mass" and was greatly respected and feared alike, especially among gang culture. Mass also developed a signature calling card on his killed victims as a method to demonstrate High-Hanger's power and one of the many reasons to fear him, which was a second bullet wound in the forehead with a specific custom bullet.

Mass played a key role in London's gang warfare between rappers Cashel "Roadboy" Mitchell and Tyler "Baby Thug" Young as High-Hanger's right-hand man. Mass was present between the private meeting between Cashel and High-Hanger, and he was later ordered by High-Hanger to kidnap his rap group Death Sentence's manager, Philip R. Hall, in order to enact his plan to force Tyler into signing a contract to release Cashel from DS and force him to join his record label, Cold-Blooded Studios. Mass led a group of henchmen to ambush Philip and they subdued him, forcing him into their van and kidnapping the manager. When Philip tried to scream, Mass covered his mouth with his hand and demanded he shut up while they drove to a remote location to hold Philip hostage without any intervention. Mass tied up and gagged Philip with duct tape and he sends footage via phone for High-Hanger to reveal to Tyler in an attempt to persuade him into doing as High-Hanger says, but Tyler tries to trick High-Hanger. High-Hanger orders Mass to kill Philip as a result, so Mass pulls out a drill and prepares to drill through Philip's forehead but he suddenly stops on High-Hanger's command when Tyler finally gives in and signs the papers. Due to Tyler cooperating, Mass releases Philip from captivity but does not untie him and abandons him and he drives off.

### Jerry "Chief Beef" Stack

Portrayed by Khali Best, Jerry Stack is a minor character. He is a rapper who worked for Cold-Blooded Studios, but was secretly stealing money from High-Hanger.

Jerry was born in Hackney

## Organizations

### Ghetto Thugz

The Ghetto Thugz are a street gang based in Peckham in the south of London, within the Borough of Southwark. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the DSC and they are identified by the black color worn by their members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs. They are also known to be affiliated with ruthless music executive Jamel "High-Hanger" King and his record label Cold-Blooded Studios which also extended to protecting his rappers.

Most Ghetto Thugz members are young Black British males, although some sets have recruited female members as well as members from other races and ethnic backgrounds.

### Deptford Shank Crew

The Deptford Shank Crew (DSC) are a street gang based in Deptford in the south-east of London, within the Borough of Lewisham. Their members traditionally wear red laced-shoes and are primarily made up of Black British members around the age of nineteen and older. The DSC are one of the largest and most violent street gangs in London and they have been involved in murders, robberies and drug dealing, among other crimes. The DSC have a long and bitter rivalry with the Ghetto Thugz. The gang is particularly prominent for its members prolific activity in music, due to high-ranking members Tyler Young and Brandon Reynolds Jr..

The DSC have over three sets and they typically consist of young Black British men, with some members being white, Hispanic, Asian and Pacific Islander. The Ghetto Thugz initially formed to provide members protection from the DSC. Gang members of the Ghetto Thugz and DSC occasionally fight against each other and are responsible for a significant portion of gang-related murders in London. Some practices of DSC life generally include graffiti/