The barrister defending a musician charged with multiple rape urged a jury to make a "balanced and fair" assessment of the case.
Sally O'Neill QC said grime star Andy Anokye was on "the cusp of real success" in the music world, which had already brought him money, fame and adulation.
But she said his liking for rough sex with women did not make him a rapist.
And she described the police investigation into her client as “little short of disgraceful”, claiming police labelled her client as a rapist and didn’t care about video footage which showed consensual sex.
Anokye, 32, who rented an apartment at Millennium Promenade, Bristol, was a member of the grime creatives Boy Better Know.
He performs under the stage name Solo 45 and denies 31 charges against him covering two years.
The charges relating to four complainants include 22 counts of rape and five counts of false imprisonment.
Anokye is also accused of two charges of assault by penetration and two charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
“He had a fascination with rape games”
Miss O'Neill told the jury at Bristol Crown Court her client's fame through music had given him access to women.
She told the court: “He liked to film his sex.
“He had a fascination with rape games.”
“That doesn’t make it non-consensual”
Ms O’Neill said it was inarguable he pushed the boundaries.
But she said: “That doesn’t make it non-consensual.”
She said the police approach in investigating his alleged rapes was prejudiced and blinkered.
She described the investigation as “little short of disgraceful”, lacking in impartiality and incompetent.
Anokye admitted humiliation and slapping but said he had had rougher sex than that shown to the jury, Ms O’Neill said.
She reminded the jury that her client had told complainants he would never do anything to put his liberty on the line.
She also said Anokye said he had not kept women at his flat against their will.
She asked for balance, caution, objectivity and fairness in the jury’s assessment of the case.
Ms O’Neill told the jury Anokye made and saved sexual videos - among some 90,000 images - and believed they showed consensual sex.
She said computer literate Anokye could have deleted or encrypted them from his electronic devices, but he didn’t and gave police free access to them.
“We suggest that speaks volumes,” she said.
She referred to a witness who told the jury her sex with Anokye was consensual and she wanted to give independent evidence to “set the record straight”.
The case continues.
