“Beautiful” and “inspiring”, ‘pioneering music entrepreneur’ Jamal Edwards died at 31!
London- Pioneering figure of grime and British rap music and founder of SBTV, Jamal Edwards, has died due to a ‘sudden illness’ early on Sunday, his mother confirmed on Monday.
“My ‘beautiful’ and ‘inspirational’ son died on Sunday morning from a ‘sudden illness’”, said Brenda Edwards.
While revealing the heart-wrenching news talk show “Loose Women’ panelist Brenda Edwards paid tribute to her son as she wrote on social media that the entire family is ‘devastated’ due to his death.
“After the devastating death of Jamal, our thoughts are with Brenda today”, Loose Women Tweeted.
“It is with the deepest heartache that I confirm that my beautiful son Jamal Edwards passed away yesterday morning after a sudden illness. Myself, his sister Tanisha and the rest of his family and friends are completely devastated. He was the center of our world,” reads Brenda Edward’s statement.
It further says, “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. Long live Jamal Edwards MBE, MBA and PHD.”
Born and brought up in Acton, west London, young Edwards began his career in music at the age of 15 after receiving a camera from his parents as a Christmas present.
In 2006, Edwards started SBTV (SmokeyBarz TV) – an online platform for emerging talents. With his startup, he helped several artists like Jessie J, Skepta, Dave, and Sheeran launch their careers.
“Jamal Edwards, founder of the SBTV YouTube channel which helped launch Dave, Ed Sheeran and Jessie J, has died at 31”, Tweeted, BBC Breaking News.
Currently, the SBTV YouTube channel shows 1.2 million subscribers and around 1 billion-plus view.
During an interview with BBC Radia 1Xtra, Edwards said, “Everyone in my area was an MC and I thought ‘Alright if everyone is doing MCing what else can I do that’s around the music?'”
“I remember I was just sitting there and was thinking, ‘Why can’t I find these online?’ and if they were online it was just bad-quality versions, so I thought ‘Alright, cool, I’m going to try and film people in my area and upload it to YouTube.’ And from there it just started building and growing.”
Later, after getting on the ladder of success, Edwards became an ambassador for Prince of Wales charity that operated to assist youth in establishing their own companies.
In 2014, he was entitled to the MBE (Member of the British Empire) award for his services.
