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Solo 45: Boy Better Know rapper charged with 29 counts of rape Solo 45: Grime MC charged with 29 counts of rape
(about 14 hours later)
Rapper Solo 45, a member of the grime collective Boy Better Know, has been charged with 29 counts of rape, police have said. Grime MC Solo 45 has been charged with 29 counts of rape. 
The 31-year-old, whose real name is Andy Anokye, was initially charged with two counts of rape, one count of false imprisonment and one count of causing actual bodily harm, relating to a single person. The member of grime collective Boy Better Know, whose real name is Andy Anoyke, had earlier been charged with two counts of rape, one count of false imprisonment and one of actual bodily harm, which related to one victim. 
He pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges at Bristol Crown Court, where a trial was due to start on Wednesday. He has now been charged with a further 27 counts of rape after three more people made allegations against him. 
However, since this court appearance three more people have made allegations of rape against the rapper, Avon and Somerset Police said. Anokye, 31, pleaded not guilty to the earlier charges at Bristol Crown Court. 
The trial has now been adjourned until April next year. Police said their investigation was continuing. He was due to stand trial on 18 October, however the court date was adjourned due to the additional charges. He will now stand trial on 16 April 2018. 
Solo 45 has been a member of Boy Better Know, which also counts Wiley, Skepta and JME among its members, since 2006. He is best known for his 2014 hit ‘Feed em to the Lions’. A statement from the Avon and Somerset Police said: "Detectives are still keen to speak to anyone who may be able to offer information which may assist an ongoing investigation concerning Mr Anokye.
JME, a prominent member of the collective, addressed the allegations in a series of tweets on Wednesday evening. "Anyone with information is asked to contact DC Ryan Matthews in investigations on 101 quoting reference 5217082649."
“I didn’t want to speak until the case was over, and verdict reached. As I have no idea what the intricacies are, who the victims are etc”, he said. BBK co-founder Jme appeared to comment on the allegations on Twitter.
JME, real name Jamie Adenuga, also answered criticisms that Boy Better Know members had been slow to comment. While he did not refer to Solo 45 by name, he posted several tweets about "29 counts" and called the charges "totally shocking".
“Some people will speak up immediately as news hits, some will wait for a verdict. That’s why I think 'the scene' has been quiet on the issue.” "I just hope it's not true," he wrote, and commented on the apparent quiet of the music scene over the allegations: "Some people will speak up immediately as news hits, some will wait for a verdict. I think that's why 'the scene' has been quiet on the issue."
Anyone with more information can call DC Ryan Matthews on 101, quoting reference 5217082649. The Daily Mail was criticised for running a headline that said Solo 45 had worked with grime MC Stormzy. 
Stormzy, who is not a member of BBK, was named in the headline while Solo 45 was not. The original headline, which has since been changed, said: "Boy Better Know star who worked with Stormzy is accused of 29 rapes."
The artist tweeted in apparent response to the headline: "Everyone at the Daily Mail can suck their mum's as well from the CEO to the receptionist."
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