Return Of The Immigrant: Rapper Cashh on his UK comeback after being deported for five years
Even as his flight left the runway in 2014, Cashief Nichols couldn’t quite believe what was happening. Brought to the UK from Jamaica by his mother when he was six years old, he had vague memories of his country of birth and understood his heritage, but south London was all he had really ever known.
“I knew I wasn’t born in the UK,” he tells Sky News, “but it was home, for sure”. However, after several years of applying for indefinite leave to remain, he was deported, due to a Home Office decision that he had no legal right to be in the UK and had overstayed as a minor.
“Throughout the entire process, I’ll be honest, I didn’t think it was actually going to happen because it was just absurd to me,” he says. “Surely I can’t get sent to a place that I have no knowledge of? But eventually, it happened.”
Cashh, real name Cashief Nichols, says he hopes to help others going through similar situations
Nichols’ life was upended not long after the release of his star-studded debut mixtape, Alarm Clock, featuring collaborations with the likes of Wiley, Ghetts, Kano and Lady Leshurr. He had also worked with Stormzy. Now known as Cashh, he was Cashtastic back then and a rising star, signed to Universal.
“This project had a lot of my peers at that time and now they’re household names of UK music,” he says. “It was my time. It’s like doing a 100 metre run and just as you’re about to cross the finish line, someone kind of pulls your leg out of nowhere and you’re injured.”
The flight to Jamaica was only the second time he had ever been on a plane; the first, that journey to the UK as a child. “It was a confusing time for me because essentially everything I’ve worked for, everything I’ve known, is about to get pulled away from me – or rather, I’m being pulled away from it. And that is definitely a heavy load to have on your shoulders. But at the same time, I’m that six, seven-year-old again, excited by the fact I’m on a plane. They’re bigger in real life! It’s a melting pot of different emotions.”
At this point, the rapper says he had convinced himself there might have been a mistake, and that when he landed he would be U-turned on to the next flight back. But there was no mistake. He arrived in Jamaica with no contacts, no home, no idea what his future held. It would be five years before his return.
The Home Office would not comment on Nichols’ case specifically, but a spokesperson told Sky News: “We expect those with no legal right to be in the UK to leave voluntarily but make no apologies for enforcing their removal if necessary. The Home Secretary has set out plans to introduce a new immigration system that is firm and fair. The new system will stop the abuse of the system and expedite the removal of those who have no right to be here.”
After arriving in Jamaica, once realisation dawned, the rapper says he spent his first two-and-a-half years “in a mental prison”, desperate to get back to his family, friends, the life and career left behind. He says he felt frustrated, but not angry. “One of the most difficult parts I’d say is over the years, one by one, or maybe two by two, five by five, seeing people disappear,” he says. “I guess everyone has their own life. I think in general it’s just out of sight, out of mind.”
Cashh pictured in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 2018, and as a boy in Kingston (below) in 1998, before he was brought to the UK by his mother
Nichols was granted approval to return to the UK in 2019. “I literally can’t explain the feeling,” he says. “It was like, I’m not going to waste this opportunity – because that’s literally what it is. I’m not taking it for granted. I know that this is an opportunity that a lot of people don’t get, it’s rare for someone to be removed from the country and actually return. So I think there’s a greater purpose for me being back in the UK and being able to tell my story.”
Now back as Cashh, the rapper’s experience is told through his debut album, Return Of The Immigrant, featuring songs and skits laying bare what it is like passing through the immigration system – “we’re not people, we’re just paperwork”, he says – to tracks such as Wash Clothes, celebrating aspects of Jamaican culture.
The last track, Mummy’s Diamond Prayer, is a voice message from his mother, left when Nichols travelled back to Jamaica – “this time on my own terms” – earlier in 2021. It is a prayer for good things, for success, prosperity. “I just remember feeling goosebumps,” he says. “I will never forget that prayer.”
Now, Nichols is hoping to use his status to help enact change.
Cashh says he is now thankful for the time he had in Jamaica
“I want to change the narrative of what it is to be an immigrant,” he says. “I remember being younger, if you called somebody an immigrant it’s almost like it’s offensive.”
The rapper says he is in the process of setting up a foundation, Proud Immigrant, to help fund immigration cases in the UK. He also wants to set up a facility in Jamaica to help those who find themselves in a similar situation to his when he first arrived.
In his experience, he says, “once you get on that plane and you get to the country they’ve sent you back to, there is zero information for you. You are now on your own”. The idea is to set up a place for people to get advice, maybe help them connect with lawyers. “Just help to facilitate, to make the landing a little bit softer for them – because my landing wasn’t soft.”
Jamaica is a beautiful country, he says, and he is now thankful for this time there.
“The sun is nice, they have beaches,” he laughs. “I’ve now been on both sides of the coin. I’ve been on the side of having the privilege of living within the UK – not even just the UK, just a first-world country that has opportunities. People have to understand that it’s not that migrants are travelling to the UK or to any first-world countries because they hate their country, [it’s because] there’s opportunities here to literally change lives.”
Nichols says he is now grasping his own opportunity with both hands.
“It’s a sad reality that I’m just an anomaly,” he says, of the fact he has been able to return, albeit on a visa. “Really, this doesn’t stop. So whatever voice I can give, I’m here and I’m willing to help.”
Cashh’s mixtape Return Of The Immigrant is out now
MasterChef presenter John Torode will no longer work on the show after an allegation he used an “extremely offensive racist term” was upheld, the BBC has said.
His co-host Gregg Wallace was also sacked last week after claims of inappropriate behaviour.
On Monday, Torode said an allegation he used racist language was upheld in a report into the behaviour of Wallace. The report found more than half of 83 allegations against Wallace were substantiated.
Torode, 59, insisted he had “absolutely no recollection” of the alleged incident involving him and he “did not believe that it happened,” adding “racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment”.
John Torode and Gregg Wallace in 2008. Pic: PA
In a statement on Tuesday, a BBC spokesperson said the allegation “involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace”.
The claim was “investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm Lewis Silkin”, they added.
“The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously,” the spokesperson said.
“We will not tolerate racist language of any kind… we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken.
“John Torode’s contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.”
Australian-born Torode started presenting MasterChef alongside Wallace, 60, in 2005.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Why Gregg Wallace says he ‘will not go quietly’
A statement from Banijay UK said it “takes this matter incredibly seriously” and Lewis Silkin “substantiated an accusation of highly offensive racist language against John Torode which occurred in 2018”.
“This matter has been formally discussed with John Torode by Banijay UK, and whilst we note that John says he does not recall the incident, Lewis Silkin have upheld the very serious complaint,” the TV production company added.
“Banijay UK and the BBC are agreed that we will not renew his contract on MasterChef.”
Read more from Sky News:
BBC reveals highest-earning stars
Men who cut down Sycamore Gap tree locked up
Couple murdered two-year-old grandson
Earlier, as the BBC released its annual report, its director-general Tim Davie addressed MasterChef’s future, saying it can survive as it is “much bigger than individuals”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
BBC annual report findings
Speaking to BBC News after Torode was sacked, Mr Davie said a decision is yet to be taken over whether an unseen MasterChef series – filmed with both Wallace and Torode last year – will be aired.
“It’s a difficult one because… those amateur chefs gave a lot to take part – it means a lot, it can be an enormous break if you come through the show,” he added.
“I want to just reflect on that with the team and make a decision, and we’ll communicate that in due course.”
Mr Davie refused to say what the “seriously racist term” Torode was alleged to have used but said: “I certainly think we’ve drawn a line in the sand.”
In 2022, Torode was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, for services to food and charity.
Entertainment
BBC gives update on MasterChef’s future after Gregg Wallace allegations – as annual report released
The head of the BBC says MasterChef can survive its current scandal as it is “much bigger than individuals” – but the corporation must “make sure we’re in the right place in terms of the culture of the show”.
Director-general Tim Davie said he “absolutely” thinks the popular cooking contest has a future, with the production’s current deal with the corporation set to run out in 2028, and praised it as “a great programme that’s loved by audiences”.
Speaking as the BBC unveiled its annual report, and following a series of recent controversies, Mr Davie said the corporation’s leadership team will not “tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values”, and confirmed “senior individuals and people involved in these cases are being held to account”.
On Monday, it was revealed an independent review into “inappropriate behaviour” by MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace had upheld more than half of the allegations against him.
In response, Wallace said he was “deeply sorry” and never set out to “harm or humiliate”.
A few hours later, MasterChef presenter John Torode said an allegation he used “racial language” was upheld in the report as part of a review.
Torode has said he has “no recollection of the incident” and “did not believe that it happened”.
John Torode and Gregg Wallace in 2019. Pic: Casey Gutteridge/Shutterstock
Mr Davie said the BBC’s leadership team would not “tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values,” while BBC chair Samir Shah acknowledged there were still pockets within the corporation where “powerful individuals” can still “make life for their colleagues unbearable”.
They said several BBC staff members had been dismissed in the last three months following an independent review into workplace culture.
The review found the corporation did not have a toxic culture but there was a minority of people who behaved unacceptably and whose behaviour was not addressed.
Wallace, who was sacked from MasterChef last week, is not included in that count as he was not directly contracted by the corporation, but was employed by independent production company Banijay.
John Torode and Gregg Wallace in 2008. Pic: PA
The BBC has yet to decide if the unseen MasterChef series – filmed with both Wallace and Torode last year – will be aired or not.
‘We will make mistakes’
News of the findings in the Gregg Wallace report came on the same day it was revealed the BBC was deemed to have breached its editorial guidelines over a Gaza documentary that was narrated by the child of a Hamas official.
Media watchdog Ofcom subsequently launched its own investigation into Gaza: How To Survive A Warzone, which was removed from BBC iPlayer in February.
While the 2024-25 annual report showed a small rise in trust overall for the corporation, Mr Davie said it had been a year which saw the reputation of the BBC damaged by “serious failings” in the making of the documentary.
He said it was important that the BBC “took full responsibility for those failings and apologised for them” and called the documentary “the most challenging editorial issue” he has dealt with.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
BBC under fire over Wallace and Gaza
Mr Davie said the BBC was “taking action to ensure proper accountability and we’re taking immediate steps to stop a failing like this being repeated”.
Despite a series of controversies in recent months – including livestreaming the controversial Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury, when the band led chants of “death to the IDF” – Mr Davie insisted he can “lead” the BBC in the right direction.
When asked if he would resign, he replied: “I simply think I’m in a place where I can work to improve dramatically the BBC and lead it in the right way.
“We will make mistakes, but I think as a leadership and myself, I’ve been very clear, and I think we have been decisive.”
BBC director-general Tim Davie. Pic: PA
After what he called a “tough period,” he said the job of director-general was not one to take on “if you want a quiet life or a stress-free existence”.
Mr Shah backed Mr Davie, saying he had shown “very strong leadership throughout all this period and he has my full support”.
The report showed that Mr Davie, who has been in the role since 2020, has had a 3.8% pay rise, with his salary going up from £527,000 last year to £547,000.
BBC’s top-earning stars revealed
The BBC annual report also revealed its on-screen top earners, which saw former Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker top the chart for the eighth year running.
The former Match Of The Day presenter, who left the BBC in May, earned £1.35m in 2024/25, according to the corporation’s annual report.
Last year’s BBC annual review was overshadowed by controversy over flagship show Strictly Come Dancing, while the year before saw disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards named the corporation’s highest-paid news anchor, despite having been suspended for nine months.
Gary Lineker has topped the list of the BBC’s highest-earning stars for the eighth year running.
The former Match Of The Day presenter, who left the BBC in May, earned £1.35m in 2024/25, according to the corporation’s annual report.
Presenter Zoe Ball was the second-highest paid, earning £517,000 for her work on the Radio 2 breakfast show, which she left in December last year.
Her replacement as breakfast show host Scott Mills was just outside the top 10 as the eleventh highest earner – with a salary of between £355,000 and £359,000.
Ball has since returned to a new Saturday afternoon show on Radio 2, which she began hosting in May.
Lineker’s former Match Of The Day colleague Alan Shearer was the third-highest earner, with a salary of between £440,000 and £444,999.
Exact salaries for Lineker and Ball are listed in the BBC’s annual report, but the pay of the rest of the on-air talent is listed in bands.
BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James was fourth on the list, while presenters Fiona Bruce and Nick Robinson were the joint fifth-highest earners.
The list does not include people who are paid through independent production companies or the BBC’s commercial arm BBC Studios.
Read more:
John Torode says claim he used racist language upheld
BBC gives update on MasterChef’s future
BBC broke editorial guidelines with Gaza documentary
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
BBC reputation damaged by ‘serious errors’
The BBC’s annual report comes as the organisation has faced criticism for a series of failings.
They have included the airing of a controversial Bob Vylan set at Glastonbury – where the band led chants of “death to the IDF”, and claims of “inappropriate behaviour” by MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
BBC under fire over Wallace and Gaza
Speaking after the publication of the report, BBC director-general Tim Davie said MasterChef can survive its current scandal as it is “much bigger than individuals”.
But he stressed that the corporation must “make sure we’re in the right place in terms of the culture of the show”.
They said several BBC staff members had been dismissed in the last three months, following an independent review into workplace culture.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike