Remembering Jamal Edwards MBE.
At The Black Project, we work closely with The Black Fund - founded by Little Mix’s Leigh-Anne Pinnock, her sister Sairah, and her fiancé Andre Gray. They were all close with Jamal, and would like us to take the time to remember who he was. This post is from them.
Jamal was a guy with the kindest heart, who truly wanted everyone to win. If he could help you, he would, in whatever way that looked like. Everything he did was with a good intention, of making things better for someone. Whether that was SB.tv and creating a platform for something he loved that wasn’t being seen, or the sheer volume of community work he did with young people, everything he did, he did with grace.
He founded SB.tv in his bedroom in 2006, after getting a video camera for Christmas. A music loving 16 year old, he would film unknown and upcoming artists and post them to the platform. UK music at the time was stagnant - with the charts featuring no UK rappers, and police trying to shut down Grime gigs, SB.tv offered a space to celebrate and amplify UK rap especially. It was absolutely crucial to the movement of grime music from unknown to mainstream. It went on to help launch the careers of Dave, Stormzy, AJ Tracey, J Hus, Anne Marie and Ed Sheeran.
In 2013, Jamal was chosen to be an Ambassador for The Prince’s Trust, a charity run by Prince Charles that helps young people to set up their own businesses, and at 23 was already respected enough to be giving his top tips for success in business. In 2014, alongside Prince William and Harry, Jamal helped launch the Queen's Young Leaders Programme, rewarding those young people who were working to address the urgent challenges facing their communities. From 2015 to 2021 he was a patron of the NCS, space where young people can become world ready and work ready. In 2015, he was awarded an MBE at the age of 24, for his services to music.
In 2020, he announced a partnership with the Department for Education, a three-part campaign encouraging young creatives to consider undertaking an apprenticeship. And in 2021, after 8 years working with organisations like The Princes Trust and NCS, Jamal started his own charity. JE Delve. A grassroots organisation based in his hometown Acton, JE Delve focuses on refurbishing and reopening youth centres, to offer safe and autonomous spaces for young people to engage with music, filmmaking, mental health and employment opportunities. The work is driven by the young people themselves, their wants, their needs and their aspirations. Since it’s inception, it has engaged over 300 young people across youth centres in Acton. The Black Fund is honoured to have provided funding for this project.
Jamal was a creator in the truest sense of the word. On top of creating one of the UK’s leading youth platforms, Jamal was involved in fashion, had written a book, creating music himself, and directing. In 2013 he released an ebook called Self Belief: The Vision: How To Be a Success on Your Own Terms. It achieved huge success, becoming the number one bestselling ebook on iBooks at the time. He also released a collection of headwear with Topman, featuring snapbacks and bucket hats he designed himself. He walked in fashion shows for Hermès, and featured in campaigns for Primark and Kurt Geiger. In 2021 he launched his DJ’ing career under the name Jamal Artman, as well as directing Ed Sheeran’s ‘Bad Habits’ remix featuring Tion Wayne and Central Cee.
Jamal has been honoured in many ways over the years, including:
An MBE in 2015
Number 2 in The Guardian’s Top 30 young people in digital media, 2014
Named a Next Generation Leader by TIME Magazine, 2014
Inducted into the British Interactive Media Associations Hall of Fame, 2016
Named one of the Maserati 100, recognising one hundred game-changing entrepreneurs who are innovators in the business world, 2016
Honorary MBA from Luton and Bedfordshire University
Appointed Entrepreneur in Residence at University of Sussex
Honorary Doctorate from University of West London
He will be remembered for all of this for sure. But more than that, he will be remembered as a son, a brother, a friend, an avid supporter of his community, and quite simply a good man.
Thank you for everything Jamal, we’ll miss you forever.
"We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.” - Jamal Edwards.