Losing a loved one is never easy, but when such a loss is sudden, violent, and is mocked on social media, the journey to peace becomes even more complex. Maryam Tarabi’s story is one of profound grief, resilience, and a search for healing in the face of tragedy. She opens up about her brother Abdullahi “Teewizz” Tarabi who was stabbed to death in 2017. The death of Teewizz was heavily mocked during the peak of UK Drill music and this was mainly due to 1011/CGM members such as Digga D mentioning Teewizz’s name in multiple songs, most notably ‘No Hook’.
Maryam’s Childhood:
Maryam grew up in the West London area of Northolt in a close-knit family with 9 other siblings (with her being the youngest). She was protected and guarded closely by her many older brothers who would look out for her and ‘baby’ her. Teewizz was the second youngest child in her family so naturally they’d get on well and have a close relationship. To Maryam, Teewizz was a protector, a joker, and a loving son who always cared deeply for his family, especially their mother; However, the streets image of Teewizz was a stark contrast to this with him being allegedly participating in illicit & violent activities, though he was never charged by police over any of this.
The killing of Abdullahi “Teewizz” Tarabi:
The events that led up to the death of Teewizz are unclear; however sources say that Teewizz ran into his killer Tamba “Teerose” Momodu and they had an altercation which Tamba ended up losing. Teerose feeling vengeful decided to call his friend and searched for Teewizz in the Northolt area where they ended up chasing him. Teewizz managed to run to Newnham Close which is within minutes of his home, but unfortunately got stabbed and later succumbed to his injury.
Although many speculate that Teewizz was involved in a local gang feud, he was a talented individual who played for Chelsea academy previously and had aspirations to go to university to study sports science.
The trial of the two suspects (who were both underage at the time) ended up being a disappointment to the Tarabi family. Due to Teewizz shouting to his brother to “back the ramsey”, the age of the defendants, bad character references on the victim as well as the fact that no witnesses wanted to take the stand, both defendants managed to get acquitted of their charges based on the grounds of self-defence. This devastated the Tarabi family and many were divided on how they should go about finding justice.
The pain of the verdict was hurt more as after the case Teerose would go on to make a diss track where he reenacted the death of Teewizz, this didn’t stop with him as other rappers and drill collectives would diss Teewizz through music and social media antics, most notably Digga D and his group CGM as they rose to prominence of the back of dissing Teewizz.
Initially consumed by the desire for vengeance, Maryam now finds solace through her faith. Embracing Islam has been an essential part of her journey and life, helping her to let go of the anger that had once consumed her.
The Murder of Tamba “Teerose” Momodu:
Tamba Momodu would end up passing away in 2020 in a fatal shooting in the Telford area where he moved to start afresh. He was allegedly tracked for months on end. The suspects in this murder case are Mahamud Tarabi, who is the older brother of Teewizz, and Ahmed Karshe who is their cousin. They are currently on trial for the murder. It’s believed that when Teerose was arrested in the Telford area for drug related offences and the local newspaper mentioned the road name that he lives on the suspects were able to pinpoint him and stalk him however they’re still on trial and all of this is alleged.
We at VE Media don’t condone violence in any way shape or form. These deaths should further cement to us why the streets aren’t worth it. Rest in peace to both Abdullahi Tarabi and Tamba Momodu.
