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
Manchester’s beleaguered Co-op Live arena has finally officially opened its doors after weeks of setbacks, cancellations and postponements.
The venue was initially due to fully open with two Peter Kay stand-up shows on 23 and 24 April, but these dates were pushed back when problems emerged at a test event headlined by Ricky Astley.
The Co-op Live’s new opening night was then due to be 1 May when US act A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie should have performed – but this was cancelled at the last minute as fans queued outside.
The view inside the Co-op Live, as seen by Sky News reporter Shingi Maraike
In the fortnight since, numerous other acts have been forced to postpone or move their Co-op Live gigs but the doors have finally opened to fans, with Manchester band Elbow taking to the stage this evening.
The show reportedly got under way a little late, with London band The WAEVE as the support act, the first to take to the stage as the massive arena began to fill with people.
Elbow took to the stage shortly after 9pm, with singer Guy Garvey shouting “let’s open this venue properly”, according to What’s On Editor for the Manchester Evening News Jenna Campbell, writing on X.
Co-op Live bosses said inspections have taken place ahead of tonight’s gig. Pic: PA
More than two weeks after Co-op Live should have fully opened, concertgoers are finally inside. Pic: PA
Elbow’s Guy Garvey. File pic: AP
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s last-minute cancellation two weeks ago came after part of the venue’s ventilation and air conditioning system fell from the ceiling during a soundcheck.
The venue’s boss said today that the accident could have been “catastrophic” if it had happened just 15 minutes later.
Read more: All the Co-op Live gigs cancelled or postponed
Signs Co-op Live is still a work in progress
The fact that the opening of Co-op Live has been beset by issues was not lost on Dermot and Diane as they stared up at the sleek black structure with a capacity of 23,500.
The couple, who had travelled from Lancaster, said they already had a Plan B to go to the Trafford Centre in Manchester for a meal if the concert failed to go ahead. As an Elbow fan, Diane saw the concert as an early treat for her 60th birthday.
Another group who travelled from Norwich for five hours also had their own backup plan if things didn’t go as they had intended.
Less than a month ago, the arena still looked like a building site, with workers in hard hats surrounding it.
This evening, there was not a crane in sight as the queue began to build. As scheduled, the gates opened at 6.30pm and hundreds of people slowly streamed in through the security gates, scanning their own tickets on the way into an atrium that had a huge LED screen taking up most of one wall, flashing with the names of the headliners.
Some people walking into the arena audibly gasped at its sheer size. From the self-scanning tills to the lights lining the escalators, the venue is as modern and sleek as advertised, but there were also signs that Co-op Live is still a work in progress.
Some security and hospitality staff seemed to be playing catch-up with the technology, while police officers in the venue were deep in conversation with both staff and Manchester City Council. Meanwhile, a woman hovered around the atrium with a notepad to check all the screens were working.
For this multi-million-pound venue and its financial backers, the first crowds through the doors and first notes finally being played must have come with a huge sigh of relief.
Pic: PA
Tim Leiweke, chief executive of the arena’s operator Oak View Group, told BBC News: “They didn’t put the bolts in. It wasn’t visible to the eye and it fell out.
“So we [have since] got that double checked and triple checked. We’ve looked at thousands of bolts up in that ceiling now. We’ve looked at the life safety lines. And we were going to take our time to make sure we did this right.
“There was no way we were opening the doors until we checked every screw and every bolt and every one of those 95 shafts.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Co-Op Live delays explained
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
A number of Elbow fans at the venue admitted they were feeling “apprehensive” ahead of the gig.
“When you go anywhere you want to know about the structural integrity of the place you’re going to,” said Samantha, 51, who did not want to share her surname.
“I know all venues have to start somewhere but as long as they say everything is fine, that’s as reassuring as it can be.”
With a capacity of 23,500, Co-op Live is the UK’s latest indoor arena and it cost £365m to build.
Entertainment
Cannes Film Festival 2024: The Apprentice to the new Mad Max – five films to look out for as stars hit the red carpet
This year’s Cannes Film Festival is getting under way with, as always, a French movie opening proceedings and celebrities lining the red carpet.
Lea Seydoux is among the stars in The Second Act, which tells the story of actors working on a doomed movie production – a delightfully wicked way to kick off the world’s most famous film festival.
Away from opening night, here are five more films playing at Cannes that are worth keeping an eye on.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
Anya Taylor-Joy as Furiosa in Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Pic: Warner Bros/ Domain Pictures
A post-apocalyptic action adventure, this is a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road – which won six Oscars and is largely regarded as one of the best action films ever. Furiosa is by the same director, George Miller, and early reviews suggest it’s somewhat different to its predecessor but equally brilliant. With stars including Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hardy, it should be a great way to kick off summer blockbuster season – in cinemas from 24 May, so audiences who aren’t on the French Riviera don’t have long to wait too long.
Megalopolis
Adam Driver and Nathalie Emmanuel in Megalopolis. Pic: American Zoetrope
Legendary director Francis Ford Coppola‘s self-financed passion project is playing in competition at the festival. The filmmaker is reported to have spent several decades and more than a million dollars of his own money making the sci-fi, which is described as a Roman epic fable set in an imagined modern America. The ensemble cast includes Adam Driver, Giancarlo Esposito, Nathalie Emmanuel, Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne and Dustin Hoffman – and as Coppola’s first film to be released since 2011, expectations are high for this one.
The Apprentice
Jeremy Strong (lawyer Roy Cohn) and Sebastian Stan (Donald Trump) in The Apprentice. Pic: Apprentice Productions Ontario / Profile Productions/ Tailored Films
As Donald Trump continues to grab headlines in the US, this film looks at the former president’s life before politics, his career in real estate in New York in the 1970s and 1980s. Sebastian Stan stars as Trump, but little else is known about the drama ahead of its world premiere at Cannes. Promoters say it tackles themes of power, corruption and deception – so now it’s a watch and wait to see if the billionaire has anything to say about his life becoming fodder for the big screen.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Horizon: An American Saga
Kevin Costner in Horizon: An American Saga. Pic: Warner Bros
Another passion project making its way to the south of France is the first half of this two-parter Western co-written, starring and directed by Kevin Costner. The actor first pitched a version of this movie back in 1988 so it’s been brewing since long before the Western drama series Yellowstone that he’s been busy with during recent years. Audiences will be going in knowing they won’t get the whole story, and with a 181 minute running time it’s quite the commitment – but perhaps not as big as Costner’s himself; he’s personally financed the films, which currently have a budget of almost $100m.
Kinds Of Kindness
Margaret Qualley, Jesse Plemons and Willem Dafoe in Kinds Of Kindness. Pic: Searchlight Pictures
Mere months after Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things won four Oscars, the director has got the gang back together for a new film premiering at Cannes, also starring Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley. Described as a “triptych fable”, the film tells three stories that are loosely connected. Known for his strange tales and specific vison, while Lanthimos’s movies aren’t for everyone they certainly can’t be accused of being dull. However, with little to be gleaned from the teaser trailer that’s been released so far, it will be all eyes on Cannes to see what audiences make of this one.
The creator and star of hit Netflix series Baby Reindeer has issued a fresh plea to fans to stop trying to discover the identities of characters in the show – and warned he will refrain from commenting for good.
Described as a true story, Richard Gadd’s series – in which he plays barman and aspiring comedian Donny Dunn – sparked an online frenzy over the real-life identities of some of the characters – including a stalker played by actress Jessica Gunning.
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Gadd called on fans to stop their searches, saying: “If I wanted the real life people to be found, I would’ve made it a documentary”.
Gadd also said he was concerned any further comment on identities would cause yet more speculation.
“I’ve spoken publicly about how I don’t want people to do it and if I start playing a game of whack-a-mole, then I’m almost adding to it,” he added.
“I don’t think I’ll ever comment on it ever again.”
Gadd’s character Donny is stalked by a woman named Martha Scott, played by Jessica Gunning. Pic: Netflix
It follows a previous appeal in an Instagram story, when Gadd said: “People I love, have worked with, and admire… are unfairly getting caught up in speculation.
“Please don’t speculate on who any of the real-life people could be. That’s not the point of our show.
“Lots of love, Richard.”
Baby Reindeer is about the traumatic life of a struggling comedian who is stalked by a woman called Martha Scott and is sexually assaulted by someone seemingly high up in the entertainment industry.
In the opening sequence of the series, viewers are told in an on-screen message: “This is a true story.”
A woman alleged to be the inspiration for the stalker character of Martha has since appeared in an interview with journalist Piers Morgan, saying she was “forced” to come forward after receiving online death threats from “internet sleuths”.
Fiona Harvey repeatedly denied being a stalker and described the series as “a work of fiction”.
When asked if she will “categorically be taking legal action”, she replied: “Absolutely, against both him (Gadd) and Netflix.”
Read more from Sky News:
‘Ghostbusters-style’ devices could be given to police
Eurovision responds to complaints from contestants
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Gadd’s interview with the Hollywood Reporter was published on Monday but was carried out before the Morgan interview with Ms Harvey aired.
Gadd also revealed he lost almost 20 kilos to play the role because he wanted “to feel vulnerable and fragile” in his body so when filming was over “there was a bit of piecing myself back together”.
“To play Donny Dunn, I had to go back to that head space where I was at the time [in real life], which was very raw and very damaged,” he added.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Environment12 months agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports1 month agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports7 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment1 year agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Environment1 year agoTesla advances Powerwall pilot project with German electric company