How Jamal Edwards dodged London gun gangs before becoming YouTube influencer of his generation and pals with Ed Sheeran
JAMAL Edwards gave superstars such as Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Rita Ora and rapper Dave huge leg-ups into showbusiness.
The YouTube pioneer who died suddenly at the weekend, aged 31, brought them to the attention of millions with homemade videos he produced while a teen on a crime-ridden estate.
He went on to be feted by royalty, politicians and business leaders, who since his death have joined today’s chart-toppers in paying tribute.
Prince Charles made him an ambassador for his youth charity The Prince’s Trust, and in 2015 Jamal was awarded an MBE at Buckingham Palace, for services to music.
He dedicated himself to helping young people, wrote self-help books and carried the Olympic torch before the London 2012 Games.
He attended the Brit Awards earlier this month and it is understood he performed a DJ gig in North London on Saturday night just hours before his death.
In his far too short life Jamal, who died “after a sudden illness”, achieved so very much.
The founder of YouTube channel SB.TV was just 16 when he set up the digital platform for emerging music talent, using just his own basic video camera.
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Speaking to PA after being made an MBE, he said he started SBTV to give his friends a platform.
He added: “It was a frustration of going to school and everyone talking about: ‘How do we get our videos on MTV?’
“YouTube was like, a year old. I was like: ‘I’ve got a camera for Christmas, I’m going to start filming people and uploading it.’
“Everyone was looking at me, like: ‘What are you doing? Like you can compete with these major corporations.’ But I think I was early enough to believe that I could make a change.”
He went to run a record label, make music videos and even interview politicians.
Having started broadcasting on his SB.TV channel in 2006, just a year after YouTube began, Jamal was one of the first people to prove you could get rich providing internet content.
A YouTube tribute to its 74million Twitter followers said of Jamal: “We’ve lost a legend today. Jamal Edwards was an inspiration to so many, supporting artists and shaping culture through @SB.TVonline.”
Born in Luton in 1990, Jamal never knew his dad and was brought up by mum Brenda, who went on to be a semi-finalist on The X Factor in 2005 and later a Loose Women panellist.
I remember seeing guys running past with guns while we were playing football — hearing bangs and then all the mums screaming at us to get inside.
Jamal Edwards
Yesterday her Loose Women colleagues cried as they paid tribute and read out Brenda’s moving statement in which she said: “Myself, his sister Tanisha and the rest of his family and friends are completely devastated.
“He was the centre of our world. As we come to terms with his passing we ask for privacy to grieve this unimaginable loss.
“I would like to thank everyone for their messages of love and support.
“Jamal was an inspiration to myself and so many.
“Our love for him lives on, his legacy lives on.”
His death was announced online on Sunday and later confirmed by his management, but the Loose Women, panel spoke of Brenda’s sadness at the way the death of her son was made public on social media.
Host Charlene White told viewers Brenda felt the announcement had been “taken away from her” by people posting the news online.
The panel welled up as they watched clips of Edwards and shared memories of the times he appeared on the programme.
YouTube was like, a year old. I was like: ‘I’ve got a camera for Christmas, I’m going to start filming people and uploading it.’
Jamal Edwards
White said: “Any of you who regularly watch the show will know the love Brenda had for both Jamal and her daughter Tanisha was massive. Her heart was full of so much love for those children.
“So you know just how shocked Brenda is and just how hard it’s hit all of us who knew him and of course all of us who love Brenda.”
White said she and fellow panellist Judi Love had spent much of the night with their friend on Sunday after hearing the news.
Love added: “I don’t want to have to do this but we have to.
“It’s heartbreaking and all we can do is try and do the best we can to support Brenda and honour her amazing son in such a difficult time.
“We just wanted to be there for her yesterday.”
Jamal’s death is an unbelievable tragedy for Brenda, 52, who had already suffered far too much heartache in her life.
When she was four her father, an engineer, and mother, a nurse, were killed in a car crash, leaving her and elder brother Rodney orphaned.
He was the centre of our world. As we come to terms with his passing we ask for privacy to grieve this unimaginable loss.
Brenda Edwards
The siblings were brought up in a cramped house in Luton by their grandmother, who died from a stroke when Brenda was 20.
Just a few months later she fell pregnant with Jamal and had to bring him up alone because the dad had nothing to do with their child.
The same thing happened with her daughter Tanisha two years later, but she found a father for her kids in Patrick, a mortgage broker who she met when Jamal was five.
Around this point his mum and stepdad moved to West London, where he faced trouble at school and with gangs among the Sixties high-rises of the South Acton Estate.
Jamal recalled: “I remember seeing guys running past with guns while we were playing football — hearing bangs and then all the mums screaming at us to get inside.
“There were times when we weren’t allowed to go to school because someone had been shot and killed.”
Even just travelling to a different area was risky.
A trip to a pirate radio station resulted in a group of young men in balaclavas setting upon Jamal and his pals.
We’ve lost a legend today. Jamal Edwards was an inspiration to so many, supporting artists and shaping culture through @SB.TVonline.
YouTube tribute
He said: “We all had to run. And I remember thinking to myself, ‘Hang on, why am I running? I haven’t done anything’.”
Aged 14, Jamal was arrested after hitting a fellow pupil in the face with a chair at Acton High School.
Jamal, who was defending himself after being sprayed in the face with deodorant, was not charged.
But he admitted: “Mum was so upset. I could tell she was really disappointed, and that was a wake-up call.”
It went against everything Brenda, an accounts clerk, had taught him.
Jamal recalled: “Mum was very protective. She was also strict. I wasn’t allowed to play outside, and even when I was older, I had to be off the streets by a certain time.”
After his brush with the law Jamal became interested in making home movies.
He used his £20 mobile phone with a built-in video camera to first record local wildlife such as foxes — then local rappers.
Mum was so upset. I could tell she was really disappointed, and that was a wake-up call.
Jamal Edwards
At the age of 16 he received an equipment upgrade when his mum bought him a simple hand-held Panasonic video camera for Christmas.
The rapper started the YouTube channel SB.TV — named after his rap name at the time, SmokeBarz — in 2006 and received lots of clicks for the interviews he conducted.
The teen tycoon beat the competition by putting in the hours, waiting outside nightclubs to video stars after finishing his day job at clothes store Topman.
He said: “I was uploading a video every day without fail. I’d finish work, finish college, and I’d be editing my videos when I was on the bus home to make sure that if there had been other people filming too, I got my clip online first.”
His mum, though, wasn’t convinced that posting fun films was a way to make a living.
She told him ‘Stay in Topman, it’s a steady income.’
Thanks to his nous the channel became the go-to place for emerging talents, particularly in the emerging grime scene.
Ed Sheeran was hardly known when he first appeared on SB.TV in 2010 yet it led to collaborations with more established names such as Wiley.
Mum was very protective. She was also strict. I wasn’t allowed to play outside, and even when I was older, I had to be off the streets by a certain time.
Jamal Edwards
You Need Me, I Don’t Need You was the first of many SB.TV videos Ed performed in and pulled in more than seven million views for the channel.
Jamal was the first person to interview Rita Ora and also got in early with acts such as Emeli Sande, Skepta, Jessie J and Stormzy.
As word spread Canadian singer Justin Bieber, politician David Cameron, TV guru Simon Cowell, and pop stars Ellie Goulding, Bruno Mars and Nicki Minaj wanted to appear on SB.TV as well.
By the age of 22 he was worth a reported £8million and was being mentored by Virgin boss Sir Richard Branson.
He earned extra cash by becoming an ambassador for sports brand Puma, setting up the record label Just Jam with Sony’s backing and creating a fashion line for his former employers, Topman.
Jamal became an inspiration to young people and that was recognised by the Royal family.
He made a film with Prince Charles about the ways young people with issues such as dyslexia are discriminated against.
The dedicated entrepreneur also helped launch the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme with Prince William and Prince Harry.
I was so proud when he got the MBE. I still look at the award. It’s gorgeous.
Brenda Edwards
Jamal, who set up youth clubs in London and encouraged people to vote, was awarded an MBE in 2015.
It meant so much to his mum, who said: “I was so proud when he got the MBE. I still look at the award. It’s gorgeous.”
That dedication to the have-nots turned global when he visited Africa’s largest slum in Kenya as an ambassador for charity Save the Children in the same year.
But there were times when he overburdened himself with work.
He admitted: “I still get bad anxiety at times, if I have too many things going on.
“I have to sit down and tell myself to take a breather.”
That’s not to say his non-stop networking and round the clock approach didn’t pay off.
Jamal said: “By following my passion I’ve been able to fly around the world.
“I’ve been on tour with Dr Dre, Rihanna and invited to meet Bill Gates in Seattle.”
By following my passion I’ve been able to fly around the world. I’ve been on tour with Dr Dre, Rihanna and invited to meet Bill Gates in Seattle.
Jamal Edwards
He added: “The best thing about my job is that every morning when I wake up I realise I’m in charge of my fate, which is such an empowering feeling for a young man in Britain today.”
The loving son demonstrated his devotion to his mum by moving back home in order to nurse Brenda through breast cancer in 2015.
It was a traumatic experience for Jamal, but his mum remained positive despite the life threatening condition being spotted late.
He said: “She lost her hair and my head was all over the place as a result.
“But she smiled all the way through it.”
Thankfully, successful treatment meant she was cancer free a year later.
Brenda has gradually made a name for herself since being voted out of the second X-Factor series.
She appeared in numerous stage musicals including Chicago, Hairspray and We Will Rock You before becoming a regular panellist on ITV’s daytime show Loose Women in 2019.
The best thing about my job is that every morning when I wake up I realise I’m in charge of my fate, which is such an empowering feeling for a young man in Britain today.
Jamal Edwards
Paying tribute to Jamal his mum Brenda said yesterday: “Myself, his sister Tanisha and the rest of his family and friends are completely devastated. He was the centre of our world.
“I would like to thank everyone for their messages of love and support. Jamal was an inspiration to myself and so many.
“Our love for him lives on, his legacy lives on.”
