Stars together with Mahalia and Max Cyrus have paid tribute to music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards – somebody who “turned on the light in the room” for others to shine.
Along with the YouTube star’s mom Brenda, they spoke to Sky News on the Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS) 2022 ceremony – at which he turned the primary recipient of the prize to be honoured posthumously.
Edwards, a YouTube star who helped launch the careers of artists together with Ed Sheeran, Dave, Rita Ora and Jessie J, died immediately at house in Acton, west London, in February on the age of 31.
Speaking as she was as a consequence of settle for the celebrated MITS prize on her son’s behalf, for his excellent contribution to the business, Ms Edwards stated he had been a “voice of calm” to many within the leisure business and past.
“I just wish I had that voice around me a bit more now,” she stated.
Music stars together with Jorja Smith, Little Simz, Mahalia and Cyrus had been on the invoice performing on the ceremony held in Edwards’ reminiscence, as he joined earlier winners together with Kylie Minogue, Pete Tong, Sir Elton John and Annie Lennox.
Attending together with her daughter Tanisha – each sporting blue as a nod to Chelsea FC, the membership Edwards supported – Ms Edwards advised Sky News: “I’m very proud to be receiving this award on behalf of Jamal. Very unhappy, clearly. I nonetheless have not come to phrases with it, in a approach of… he is gone, I’m nonetheless on the ‘he is right here’.
“I have so many conversations with so many people talking about him in the present and I think that brings me quite a bit of joy because it shows that his legacy is still alive and what he wanted to achieve is still going.”
Born in Luton earlier than shifting to west London as a toddler, Edwards grew up on a council property and went on to be appointed an MBE for providers to music in addition to an envoy for the Prince’s Trust, which helps younger individuals arrange their very own companies.
His on-line city music platform SBTV helped dozens of UK artists rise to prominence through the years.
At the MITS ceremony, he was remembered for his championing of younger artists, but in addition for his work with good causes together with psychological well being and homelessness charities.
“That was so important, he put it down into his last wishes that I continue what he’s doing and focus on mental health and wellbeing and young people, and focus on helping the homeless,” Ms Edwards stated.
“Those were both things that he championed from a very, very young age. And he would go every single year at Christmas to help out in a homeless shelter for young people.”
Ms Edwards, a singer who appeared on X Factor and can also be a panellist on Loose Women, stated her son was a “behind the scenes person and was very shy”, however after his dying individuals wished to study concerning the man who helped kickstart “all these amazing careers”.
She added: “I’m very proud of that, and the determination that he had and the tenacity that he had. And for him, the word wasn’t impossible. It was ‘I’m possible’. And I hold on to that all the time…
“I’m very happy with what he achieved. And I’m hoping that with us persevering with the legacy that different younger individuals will see: ‘I can obtain it’. If you simply imagine it, you may.”
‘He turned on the sunshine within the room for others to shine’
MOBO winner Mahalia, who was helped by Edwards when she was 12, advised Sky News: “I think being from Leicester, trying to penetrate an industry that is kind of solely based in London felt pretty impossible…
“I bear in mind assembly Jamal and simply saying to him, ‘can I sing for you?’ and him saying, ‘yeah’. At that time he was actually form of having a second within the music business, and for him to offer me only a couple minutes of his time… I feel is actually telling of the form of man he was.
“It was him that gave me my first YouTube debut. I think he is and was an incredible man. I think people particularly coming through right now can learn a lot from him, to be honest.”
Cyrus, the musician and producer, who had labored with Edwards, described him as “a phenomenal human being with a great heart”.
He added: “Far too often we sometimes forget about the people who open the doors for others… he [turned] on the light in the room for others to have a light shone on them.”
In August, a coroner concluded that Edwards died after taking medication and struggling cardiac arrhythmia.
After his dying, his mom warned others of the risks of taking leisure medication, saying in an announcement: “Jamal is proof that this can happen to anyone. His passing has shown that one bad decision on any one occasion can lead to devastating consequences.”
Source: information.sky.com”