A rising Scottish rap star aiming to be “bigger than The Proclaimers” is facing jail after he was caught dealing drugs in Perth.
Rapper Oakland Badze was busted when cops raided a flat in the city’s Scott Street and found hundreds of pounds worth of cannabis.
The 27-year-old musician, who rose to prominence in an Apprentice-style BBC music contest, was facing a charge of possession – until police found tell-tale texts revealing weeks of drug dealing activity on his mobile.
Badze – better known as Oakzy B – from Barrhead, Glasgow, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted being concerned in the supply of the class B drug from December 21 2020 to January 14 2021.
He was in the dock alongside Perth man Hassan Muwanga, who pled guilty to dealing cocaine from his flat in St Catherine’s Square on April 14 2022.
Search warrant executed
Prosecutor Joanne Ritchie said police descended on the Scott Street property armed with a search warrant at 9.30am on January 14 2021.
“They forced entry and traced the accused on his own in a bedroom,” she said.
Investigators recovered four packages of cannabis, worth up to £840.
They also seized cash, mobile phones and a set of digital scales.
“Later on that same day, police were advised that – based on the items recovered – a charge of possession of a controlled drug would be supported,” the fiscal depute said.
“However, it was recommended that the seized phones be sent for examination.”
The mobiles were analysed by a cybercrimes unit, which found drug dealing messages dating back to December 21.
Second police raid
The court heard Muwanga, 36, was arrested after police went to his flat and recovered £2,700 worth of cocaine on April 14 2022.
“The accused was traced sleeping alone in bed,” Ms Ritchie said.
“When interviewed, he initially spoke freely with police.
“He said he was the sole occupant of the council flat and when asked about controlled substances, he said he smoked weed and snorted cocaine.”
Muwanga told police he was about to start work at a pub restaurant.
But he gave “no comment” replies when asked about the cocaine found in his flat.
In 2016, Muwanga was jailed for selling drugs to schoolchildren from a property in Perth’s Scott Street.
The court heard he had spent time in custody following his arrest in 2022.
Released and remanded
Sheriff William Wood deferred sentence for background reports.
He noted, although Badze had served time when he was a teenager, he had never been to prison as an adult.
The sheriff told him: “While custody is an option as far as you are concerned, I’m not going to send you to prison just yet.
“Time has passed since this offence and I am going to give you the benefit of the doubt and release you on bail.”
He said to Muwanga: “You are in a rather different situation.
“While I accept you spent nine-and-a-half months on remand for this matter, this is your third conviction under the Misuse of Drugs Act.
“I do need to take a more serious view of that and I will remand you in custody.”
Music ‘took me off crime’
Badze, also known as Bardza, appeared in season three of the hit BBC Three show Rap Game UK.
He was one of six MCs vying for a £20,000 prize to further their music careers.
Speaking about his fledgling career, he said: “Music means everything. Music took me off the streets, took me off crime and put money in my pocket.”
He added: “My goal is to be the biggest ever musician to ever come out of Scotland.
“Bigger than Lewis Capaldi. Bigger than The Proclaimers. Bigger than all of them. I want to become a household name in Scotland and the UK.”
He used a report of a previous conviction for assault as the background for his 2022 album Ward 9.
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