2003–2007: Career beginnings West made his music career debut in 2003 at the age of 15. He did so by participating in grime battles at pirate radio station Axe FM, where he had
clashes against various competitors consistently. Black frequented the station with grime collectives Rowdy Squad and X Camp but it was when Axe FM owner Pabz created a clash competition that gained West considerable attention. In an interview with
MTV, he stated that
Tupac Shakur,
Biggie Smalls,
Mobb Deep,
Busta Rhymes,
Nas and
Bob Marley inspired him to make music. When asked about his passion for making music, West declared that he had a love for music. His most notable single during this time was "Death is Promised" released in 2005. West also stated that his music is inspired by historical and often political figures such as
Malcolm X and
Martin Luther King Jr. He released his debut mixtape
Motivation Music: Volume 1 on New Years Day 2007, sophomore mixtape
Motivation Music: Volume 2 on 1 March 2007, third mixtape
Summer Madness on 7 February 2007 to little success His fourth mixtape
Holla Black followed on 7 March 2007 and is now considered a classic album in the genre of
grime.
2008–2012: Rise to fame West was one of the earliest artists to record for
SB.TV, having released numerous freestyles and bars session alongside
ASB,
Chip,
Ghetts amongst others. Many of these freestyles were compiled and put on his debut
compilation album The Edmonton Dream, released on 28 December 2009. The album contained 60 tracks with features from numerous grime MC's including
DJ Ironik,
Wiley and
Chip, amongst others. He was featured on the
All Stars remix of the single "SB.TV" by Flexplicit and
Royce da 5'9" alongside
Lady Leshurr,
Mic Righteous & Shotty released in January 2011. During the time of the
2011 London riot, West spoke out on the scenario, asserting how he didn't support it, stating that those who weren't living in affected areas, had no right to comment on the riots, and that the action of those involved was selfish and inconsiderate. He released his sixth mixtape
Outlaw: Volume 1 on 28 March 2011 with vocal features from
Wiley,
Frisco and more.
Black is Beautiful: Volume 1, which was initially released in 2005, was made available for digital download the same day. West performed at A Day in Dam with English Frank and
Big Narstie in 2013 and the Hip Hop Kemp Festival in Czech Republic. The following year he released three more mixtapes. This includes his eighth;
Married to Marijuana which included 13 tracks of his love to marijuana, and the compilation album
Unreleased S**t: Volume 3. His tenth mixtape;
Black Is Beautiful: Volume 2 was released on 31 October 2012. The 13 track mixtape, contained features from
Dot Rotten, Loudmouth,
Shystie, amongst others.
2013–2016: Excuse Me Whilst I Kiss Sky West's 11th mixtape,
High End Weed Music was a joint effort with Iron Barz and was released on 20 April 2014. It was his second work to be dedicated to cannabis culture. On 29 August 2014, West released the second installment to his
Political hip hop mixtape series
Outlaw. Volume 2 contained features from
Lowkey,
Akala,
Jaja Soze, Benny Banks and more.
High End 2 followed on 14 December 2014. West released his debut EP titled
Excuse Me Whilst I Kiss Sky. The seven-track EP was released on 4 May 2015 and featured vocal appearances from Iron Barz, L Skinz, and Jyager. West gained national recognition for a viral stunt with
Trollstation to create a music video on the
London Eye at
4:20 pm, where they filmed each other smoking and dancing inside the enclosure on 20 April 2016 (the date also being "4/20" in American date format). West released a "Weed Remix" of
Uber Everywhere entitled "Light Up Everywhere" in April 2016.
2017–2020: Money Grows on Trees West was featured on Benny Banks and
Joe Black's collaborative mixtape
BNB released in 2017. In celebration of 420, West released a surprise EP titled
In Dank We Trust. Another independently released album, West enlisted Iron Barz, Stoner,
Footsie and others to provide vocal features on the album. On 1 October 2017, West released his second EP
Doe or Die: Volume 1. West strategically sold the album at a price of £4.20, in light of the cannabis culture once again. In 2018, West released the single "Bill It", with vocal features from
Big Narstie,
Chip and Smasher. West made an appearance on the single
Marijuana by Chip and
Mist, a song that was voted as one of the best grime songs of 2018 by
Capital XTRA. The single went on to be the lead single on his new project;
Money Grows on Trees released in August 2018. His love of marijuana is a running theme throughout the album. The album opens with the song "My Name is Black The Ripper" in which West introduces his persona to new fans over a few seconds long intro. The song acts as a quick introduction to the artist before the start of the album. In 2019, West performed at the Colours Community Festival held in February. Durung that time he announced that he was working on the sequel to his last EP
Doe or Die. Shortly after, it was announced that
Doe or Die: Volume 2 would be released on 12 October 2019. The album was another collaborative effort with Iron Barz.
Legacy and influence West has had an influence on contemporary UK rap music. His studio album
Money Grows on Trees has been cited as an influence to the new generation of UK rap, including Capo Lee.
Rimzee titled his 2019 album "The Upper Clapton Dream" after being influenced by Black The Ripper's mixtape titled "The Edmonton Dream". Black the Ripper's single "Sunset" was released on what would have been his 34th birthday, 28 December 2020. The visuals were released alongside the visuals and featured D.O.E. affiliate Iron Barz via
GRM Daily. ==Ventures==