Drill rapper Jooka appeared on the Winners Talking Podcast where he began by giving context to a past situation, explaining that he is willing to risk a lot under certain circumstances and expressing how those actions reflect what he believes to be the mentality of a ‘soldier’.

This led co host, rapper and public figure Pound Sterling, to ask a blunt and challenging question. He said,

“You’re a soldier, undoubtably. Do you love the gang more than you love your mum?”

Jooka paused before answering, responding first with,

“That’s a good question.”

Sterling pressed further, repeating the scenario and highlighting the consequences Jooka’s mother could face if he ended up in prison. Sterling said,

“Do you love the gang and being a soldier more than you love your mum, that will have to come and visit you up and down the country, her life will be put on hold, she’s going to be stressed, bawling for you, like she was bawling for you on the phone to me that time. Her life is just going to be sacrificed to looking after you because she loves you with all her heart. Does the gang matter more to you than your mum?”

After reflecting, Jooka replied,

“I appreciate that question. And if we are talking evidently, yes I love the streets more than my mum, most definitely.”

Sterling, stunned, responded,

“You’re a lost yute, you’re a lost yute. You’re letting me down. You can’t love the streets more than you love your mum. You’re bantering me.”

Jooka stood firm. He said,

“This is far from banter if I am being totally honest. I’m not saying it just to say it. I’m talking about evidently. When you do English, and they ask, ‘Have you passed or failed?’, you have passed evidently because they check your work. So if you check my credentials, you check my past, you check what I have been through, most definitely.”

He argued that if someone judged him based on his past actions, lifestyle and the circumstances he has been exposed to, it would be clear why he answered the way he did. After listening to his reasoning, Sterling appeared more understanding.

Drill artists in the UK often face a complex mix of public scrutiny, law enforcement attention and cultural misunderstanding. Over the past several years, drill music has been repeatedly linked in media and political discussions to postcode conflicts, gang associations and rising youth violence, despite the lack of definitive evidence connecting the genre itself directly to crime.

In 2018, Metropolitan Police monitoring of drill music sparked widespread debate, and although the approach has since evolved, drill remains a genre frequently associated with criminality. Research from youth justice organisations shows that many drill artists come from areas experiencing high levels of deprivation, limited opportunity and longstanding community tensions, which often shape the themes present in their music.

Being a drill artist realistically means navigating the pressure to remain authentic to one's upbringing while simultaneously trying to escape the circumstances that shaped that identity. For many artists, the lifestyle surrounding drill can involve close proximity to conflict, loyalty expectations, street politics and the constant fear of violence or legal repercussions. With social media amplifying every movement and lyric, drill musicians often balance personal safety, artistic expression and public perception simultaneously.

The clip triggered intense discussion across social platforms. One commenter wrote,

“He is right, the evident shows that he does love the streets more than his mum. If he didn’t, he would’ve left the criminal life alone.”

Another said,

“Transparency is what will allow you to either move forward or stay stuck. People expect that humans don’t acknowledge what they’re doing (sometimes they don’t) but everyone has a choice at the end of the day. Whether it’s letting you down or not, that’s his truth and he owned it.”

A third commented,

“If he loves the roads more than he loves his mum, evidently, then he has to ask himself seriously, what am I on the roads for because you can die or get birded on the roads! It’s not a game.”

Jooka’s honesty, whether shocking or expected depending on who you ask, opened a raw conversation about loyalty, upbringing and the emotional ties that bind people to the streets. His comments captured a reality that many young men involved in drill culture speak about privately, but few say so plainly in front of an audience.