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Keisha the Sket by Jade LB review – ‘the literary version of the Black nod’

A viral sensation in the early 00s and now in print, this raw, groundbreaking tale of a teenager’s sex life revels in the language of Black Londoners

In 2005, the then 13-year-old Jade LB wrote Keisha the Sket (originally called Keisha Da Sket) – a sprawling narrative about a 17-year-old girl from inner London whose life consists of sex, predatory men, parties and tragedies. LB uploaded the tale on to a blog site called Piczo and the story spread around London schools before social media was really available on phones. Its appearance was a definitive moment in Black British history. According to lifestyle platform Black Ballad, it “accidentally decolonised literature”.

A raw portrayal of teenage lust, the story, now in print with new chapters, starts with Keisha excitedly planning to meet up with a boy for sex. “Dat sexc bwoi ramel iz invitin me 2 his yard 4 a lash init,” she beams. On her way there, she collects her friend Shanice, whose older brother, Ricardo, flirts with Keisha. They have sex, which LB describes in vivid but unromantic detail: “I took his warm dick and placed it in ma mouf.” Soon, Ricardo and Keisha confess their love for each other, but Keisha’s sexual past haunts her and some local boys spread rumours about her having several abortions. Things turn grotesquely dark when, later, Keisha is brutally gang-raped by the same group. Seemingly, she quickly recovers and she and Ricardo get engaged. But on her 18th birthday, she is kidnapped and raped by college friend Malachi, who becomes violent after she rejects him.

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from Culture | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3CLa2fP
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