Jamal Edwards MBE was a British digital and music entrepreneur, DJ and founder of the revolutionary online urban music platform SBTV. This was a music platform which helped launch the careers of artists like Dave, Sheeran and Skepta. Jamal tragically passed away on the 2oth February this year, at the young age of 31. In spite of his lamentably short-lived life, he has left behind an incredible legacy. Edwards was just a young teenager from Acton, when he transformed the media empire and British music industry game forever. There aren’t enough words to articulate just how influential Jamal and SBTV have been for so many. I for one grew up admiring both Jamal and the SBTV platform he had pioneered. Edwards created one of the most iconic freestyle series in the UK named the F64, which has featured some of the UK’s most known artists including (but not limited to), Wretch 32, Chip, Lowkey, JME, Krept & Konan, GFrsh, Blade Brown. On top of this, Edwards was also elected as an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, working together with the charity to help support young people who were interested in setting up their own businesses.
GRMDaily wrote about him being a true pioneer within the music industry, stating, “Even from afar, you got the sense that Jamal was someone who really loved what he was doing, and each release felt like it meant something to him, there was a seemingly untainted purity in the uploads, just a man who loved music and wanted to share his love with the world, no strings attached. In an industry as treacherous as the music industry, clean hearts don’t always win, despite what people’s Instagram captions might tell you, so it was really refreshing to see Jamal continue to go from strength to strength with his labour of love.”
As a result of his outstanding contribution to the music industry, Jamal Edwards MBE is to be honoured with this year’s prestigious Music Industry Trusts Award (MITS). The posthumous award recognises just how much Jamal shaped the UK music scene. The Co-chair of the MITS Award committee, Toby Leighton-Pope, vocalised, “Jamal Edwards changed the face of the music industry in his 31 years, his achievements could be on par with someone 60 years into the business. His influence on the music scene as it is today should never be underestimated, just look at some of the U.K.’s biggest artists, tours and hits today, and Jamal will have played a part in some way. That’s why he is so deserving of this year’s MITS Award.”
