Jamal Edwards dies at the age of 31. The British music producer and YouTube star is the founder of the SBTV online platform. The company helped launched the careers of Dave, Ed Sheeran, and Skepta. No details have been released about his death, other than it happened on Sunday morning.
Edwards was appointed an MBE in 2014 for his services to music. He also became an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, a youth charity run by the Prince of Wales which helps young people set up their own companies.
Artists Pay Tribute
AJ Tracey tweets “RIP Jamal Edwards, west London legend status”.
Rapper Lady Leshurr wrote “He gave me opportunity after opportunity to showcase my talent from Brum into London. We need to keep his name and brand alive.”
Mobo Awards said “As the founder of @SBTVonline, his groundbreaking work & legacy in British music and culture will live on. Our hearts and thoughts are with his friends and family.”
JaeKae tweeted “I think I can speak for us all as artists and as supporters of UK grime/rap scene when I say I owe this man so much! Helped me sometimes without even speaking of it.”
SBTV, Edwards’ London-based platform for identifying new artists, has risen to 1.22 million followers on YouTube. It is called after Edwards’ own rapper identity SmokeyBarz.
It contained early music videos from J Hus, Emeli Sande, and Stormzy. Also, hundreds of other British bands were relatively unknown at the time.
Edwards also started JE Delve. It is a grassroots organization that provides youth clubs, learning opportunities, and job possibilities for young people in west London, where he grew up when his family relocated from Luton.
He collaborated with a few other youth organizations and made regular trips to youngsters, notably at Acton High School and West London College, where he had studied, to answer concerns about commercial success and self-motivation.