Rapper Slowthai raped women after gig, court told

Grammy-nominated rapper Slowthai and a friend raped two women after one of his gigs, a court has been told.

The 29-year-old, whose real name is Tyron Frampton, is accused of raping the women following his performance at The Bullingdon, in Oxford, in September 2021.

He and his co-accused, Alex Blake-Walker, both deny three joint counts of rape and one count of sexual assault.

Mr Frampton appeared at Oxford Crown Court alongside his wife, the popstar Anne-Marie, who he married in secret in July 2022.

Opening up the case for the prosecution, Heather Stangoe said the pair had met a group of women before the show, and provided some with tickets for later that evening.

Following the gig, the women met back up with Mr Frampton and his entourage on his tour bus, the barrister said.

Ms Stangoe told the court the women encouraged the group back to one of their properties, where Mr Frampton insisted on two rules: "No phones and no boys."

"Their sole purpose for going to that house was to find sexual gratification," she said.

"It mattered not to them if the women consented or not."

Ms Stangoe said once at the house, two of the women were "isolated" from their friends.

Mr Frampton and Mr Blake-Walker, 27, then raped and sexually assaulted the women, while the the men were "joking" and "high-fiving", Ms Stangoe said.

The court was told the attack ended when the women's friends became aware of the situation, and told the men to stop.

Mr Frampton then proceeded to jump from the balcony-style roof that the group were on, before running through the house to leave, the barrister added.

Defending Mr Frampton, Patrick Gibbs KC told the jury that the rapper had "met up with his fans in the usual way" following the gig.

Encouraging the jury to "keep an open mind" during the trial, he said: "What is in dispute is whether the women consented."

He said the case was partly about "the difference between willingly consenting to something that is thrilling and exciting in the moment, to then regretting it afterwards".

He also asked the jury to keep in mind the "effect of celebrity", adding that "people do, or may, act differently" around famous people.

Sheryl Nwosu, defending Mr Blake-Walker, said her client "denies that he had forced anybody" into taking part in sexual acts.

"All sexual contact and acts were consensual," she added.

Earlier on Monday, Judge Ian Pringle warned jurors of the publicity that the case may attract.

Slowthai was nominated for a Grammy award in 2021 and a Mercury prize in 2019.

The rapper, of Wellingborough Road, Northampton, was removed from the line-up of Glastonbury Festival, as well Reading and Leeds, after he was charged in 2023.

The trial continues.