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Rob Boffard is a print and broadcast journalist. This is where you'll find his writing and talking. Recent work is below, and older work in the menus at the top.

Mob deep: The New York mafioso who took the rap

(The Guardian, 9 December 2011)

John Gotti associate Louis Ferrante came up with an unusual defence strategy when the law caught up with him – learning to rap. This the extraordinary story of Ferrante's brief rap career: a story that blends hip-hop and organised crime with baseball, high-class steakhouses, John Gotti and civil rights lawyers. In the middle of it all is an unbelievable friendship between a rapper and a mob boss. To read more of this story, click here.

HHP: From MafTown to London Town

(The South African, 9 December 2011)

We’re trying to pave the way for African rap music in London,” says HHP. “And if it means I won’t sleep for four days, hey, so be it!” When the seminal South African rapper brought his style of Motswako rap to the UK, things didn't go quite to plan - but along with his buddy Tuks Senganga, the man known to his fans as Jabba intends to make SA hip-hop in the UK a more permanent presense.  To read more of this story, click here.

Protesters are “bunch of cowards”, says ANC London head

(The South African, 5 December 2011)

The head of the African National Congress London branch has heavily criticised those who took part in a protest against the Protection Of Information Bill. Xolani Xala lambasted both the protestors and the organisers, which included the Democratic Alliance Abroad. Just over 100 people gathered in front of South Africa House in London to protest the controversial bill, passed in Parliament two weeks ago. To read more of this story, click here.

WEBSITE LAST UPDATED: 16 DECEMBER 2011