Grime MC Solo 45 has been jailed for 24 years for rape

Grime MC Solo 45 has been jailed for 24 years for rape.

Solo 45, real name Andy Anokye, was found guilty of four charges of rape and holding the women against their will. He will also serve five years on licence.

The 32-year-old was guilty of 30 charges in total at Bristol Crown Court in March. These included 21 rapes, five counts of false imprisonment, two counts of assault by penetration and two of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

All offences took place from February 2015 to March 2017. Police began investigating following one victim reporting an assault.

During the trial, it was heard the grime artist met his victims at his gigs ahead of the assaults.

Solo 45 admitted he would "terrorise" women during "rough sex".

Judge William Hart said: "I'm entirely satisfied that your career as a music artist was flourishing at the time of this offending and that you would have gone to great heights.

"Your convictions have deprived you of that career but the fault is yours alone."

Jill MacNamara, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Today’s sentence reflects the severity of Anokye’s crimes and the risk he poses to women. I hope that it goes some way in providing all of these women with a sense that justice has been achieved.

“This was an incredibly complex case, involving the review of over 2m digital files. The commitment of the CPS to see this case through to its conclusion shows that we will not shy away from difficult cases.”

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Commercial Content Editor, follow him on Twitter