Gambian-British rapper Pa Salieu has said he has been blocked from performing at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony because of a “failed background check”.

The 24-year-old musician from Coventry was acquitted in March of engaging in violent disorder during a mass brawl, in which his friend Fidel Glasgow was knifed to death.

However, the singer was convicted of possessing a bottle as an offensive weapon and had previously admitted a second count of violent disorder relating to an attack on a man shortly after the brawl.

The trial concluded in March and his final sentencing date was due to be in May but has been postponed.

Sharing video footage from rehearsals of his Games performance on Instagram, he wrote: “Yesterday I received a call to say that I’m being removed from the show because I ‘failed a background check’.

“I can’t keep being silent about this stuff.”

Salieu said he had already “had to cancel 90% of my shows this year” as the Home Office would not process the paperwork needed for him to travel abroad until the court case was finished.

He continued: “I have fully cooperated with the process. Attended court on time every single day. I’ve consistently been trying to use my career to show people where I’m from that there is another life for us. One away from the roads.

“But what can you do if the police, the justice system and the Home Office don’t care about you and put everything possible in your way to stop you trying to get on with your life? Next week’s performance should have been a celebration.”

Salieu, who released his debut mixtape Send Them To Coventry in 2020, frequently uses his music to talk about violence in his hometown. In one song he refers to it as “C-O-V, hashtag city of violence”.

In October 2019, he suffered head injuries after being shot outside a pub in Coventry city centre, but made a full recovery and returned to music.

The closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games is due to take place at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Monday night, marking the end of 11 days of sporting competition in the city.

(The Guardian)