Kamaal Williams accused of sexual assault by three women

Content warning: This article contains information relating to sexual assault.

Three women have accused London electronic jazz musician Kamaal Williams of sexual assault in a new investigation by Resident Advisor. 

In a report conducted by journalists Anu Shukla and Annabel Ross published yesterday (22nd May), the three women report incidents that allegedly took place in 2010, 2021 and 2023. Although the women — whose names have been changed to protect their identities — do not know each other, their accounts detail similar alleged experiences.

One woman, Kylie*, explained how she first met Williams when she was 17. Describing his behaviour as “manipulative and pushy”, she told Resident Advisor that she repeatedly told Williams that she would not have sex with him before the alleged assault took place in November 2010. She reported the alleged rape to the police in 2020. “My main motivation for contacting the police was to have the offence reported in case it could assist with any other investigations,” she told RA. 

Another of the women, Jenna*, alleges that she was spiked before Williams allegedly assaulted her. All three accounts allege that Williams behaved coercively and with physical force despite the women’s explicit assertions of not wanting to engage with him sexually.  Jenna* told RA: “I need to speak about this because it’s for everyone else that’s been through this — and to keep anyone else from going through this, ever.”

In a statement, a representative for Williams responded that the “very serious allegations are untrue and emphatically denied by him and that he will be able to demonstrate the same.” 

Read Resident Advisor’s full report here.

In light of RA’s report, William’s set in Leeds’ Belgrave Music Hall this Saturday (24th May) has been cancelled. 

Williams came to prominence in the South London jazz and electronic scenes in the early 2010s under the name Henry Wu, with releases appearing on labels including MCDE, Eglo and Rhythm Section. In 2016, he and drummer Yussef Dayes released an album, ‘Black Focus’, on Brownswood Recordings under the name Yussef Kamaal. The duo split up soon after.

In light of the allegations made against Williams, Rhythm Section founder Bradley Zero shared in an Instagram story that both he and the label had “washed our hands” of the musician completely some years ago after a series of “violent confrontations”.  Williams released his most recent solo album, ‘Stings’, last year.