Accused Elmont acid assailant was aspiring rapper, 'digital creator'

In a video posted in December on Facebook to mark his 29th birthday, Terrell Campbell, the Brooklyn man accused in a 2021 acid attack on an Elmont college student, sounds an introspective note, expressing deep gratitude for his friends and family.

Campbell vows to continue to work hard on his music, even though the "digital creator" had yet to see his brand of hip-hop reach a wide audience. He will keep chasing his dreams during his last year in his 20s, Campbell said, and maybe start a family if he can find the right partner.

"I’m not a quitter," he continued.  "I work hard and I done been through a lot. I’m still here, you know what I’m saying? As I’m getting older, I gotta progress to being a better human."

Instead, Campbell will likely spend his 29th year defending himself against allegations he threw sulfuric acid in the face of Nafiah Ikram, a 21-year-old Hofstra University student from Elmont, nearly five years ago. The March 17, 2021, attack on Ikram left her permanently scarred and blind in her right eye.

Campbell pleaded not guilty Tuesday in a Mineola courtroom to two counts of assault, one count of criminal possession of a weapon and one count of possession of noxious materials in connection with the attack.

He boasted of his actions that night in a 2023 track, according to Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly.

"It’s sickening, it’s cruel and it’s brazen," Donnelly said in a news release.

Campbell raps in the song "Obsidian," which was cited by the district attorney: "On the street in the night like a hit man assassin, trying to run up and have your face burned in acid."

The song was available Tuesday on Spotify and other music sites 

"The past five years have not been easy on this young woman," Donnelly said of Ikram. "She survived the attack, but that was just the beginning of a long, painful journey of recovery."

Authorities offered no motive for the acid attack, and said Ikram and Campbell didn't know each other.

Campbell approached Ikram, now 26, in her driveway after she returned from her job at CVS, authorities said. She later told Newsday a hooded man wearing a ski mask threw a cup of liquid in her face, which she at first thought was warm juice.

On his Facebook page, Campbell calls himself a "digital creator" and a cancer survivor. A Spotify account under the name "YungBasedPrince" includes 10 singles, all of which have less than 1,000 plays. He has 110 monthly listeners, according to the site.

Some of the songs are inspired by Star Wars, including "Jedi vs. Sith" and "Han Solo & Chewbacca." On Facebook, he celebrated the recent departure of Kathleen Kennedy as president of Lucasfilm, saying "she ruined the Star Wars franchise smh."

In his 29th birthday video, Campbell acknowledged his music career had not taken off but he’s not deterred.

"I’m just happy to be alive," Campbell said.