J

Joshua Ribera

Born
August 10, 1995
Died
September 20, 2013
Age
18 years
Cause
stabbed

About Joshua Ribera

Joshua Ribera, 18, British rapper, stabbed.

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60 Seconds Life Story

Joshua Ribera, known to fans as the British grime rapper Depzman, was a rising talent in the UK music scene.

60 Seconds Life Story

Joshua Ribera

1995 – 2013

0:00 / 1:05

60 Seconds: Joshua Ribera's Life Story

1:05Added 2026-11-01Generated

A documentary short detailing the life and tragic death of British grime rapper Joshua Ribera, known as Depzman.

Transcript

Joshua Ribera, known to fans as the British grime rapper Depzman, was a rising talent in the UK music scene. Born in Solihull in 1995, he rose to prominence after appearing on major YouTube platforms like SB.TV, JDZMedia, and P110. In 2012, his skills shone at the Lord of the Mics battle-rap competition in London. His success continued in July 2013 with the release of his debut album, 2 Real, which topped the iTunes hip hop chart. Tragedy struck in September 2013 while Ribera was attending a memorial tribute at a Birmingham nightclub. At just 18 years old, he was fatally stabbed in the heart. His assailant, Armani Mitchell, was later sentenced to life imprisonment for the crime. Ribera remains a notable figure in the history of British grime music.

Play the illustrated life story above, or read the full biography on this page.

Visual credits: Generated illustration by The Deaths Archive (Generated illustration, not a photograph) · "Пропаганда, «Незнайка» и Серебренников. Гость — режиссер Вадим Дубровицкий" (frame grab, 0:00:01) (CC BY 3.0) · From geograph.org.uk (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Generated illustration by The Deaths Archive (Generated illustration, not a photograph) · dvidshub.net (Public domain) · luke.af.mil (Public domain) · Generated illustration by The Deaths Archive (Generated illustration, not a photograph)

An illustrated presentation assembled inside the archive from the approved script and the credited images: narration, scene transitions and captions. Caption timing is estimated from the narration.

Narrated illustration. Images are sourced and credited; they are not presented as authenticated photographs.

Full Biography

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Joshua Ribera (10 August 1995 – 21 September 2013), performing as Depzman, was a British rapper. Ribera featured on some of the largest music channels on YouTube that showcase grime music all across the UK, from JDZMedia, P110 and, the largest out of them all, SB.TV. He was stabbed in the heart outside of a Birmingham nightclub by Armani Mitchell. He was 18 years old.

Life

Ribera was born in Solihull on 10 August 1995, to Alison Cope and Anselm Ribera, who was convicted of murder in 2009. Ribera was of Spanish and Irish descent through his father. He became serious about music after being sentenced to a young offender institution for theft, gaining a name for himself in the grime genre. In 2012, he took part in the "Lord of the Mics" battle-rap competition in London. His only album, 2 Real, was released in July 2013, and reached number 1 on the iTunes hip hop chart.

Death

On 20 September 2013, Ribera attended a memorial tribute at a Selly Oak nightclub held for a friend, Kyle Sheehan “Shamz”, who had died exactly one year earlier after being stabbed in the leg. Ribera was stabbed in the heart at the event and died the next day. In March 2014, his killer, Armani Mitchell, was sentenced to life imprisonment, to serve a minimum of 18 years.

Content from Wikipedia — licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0

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Sources

People who died on September 20

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