Jamal Edwards was a British entrepreneur, author, director, as well as a DJ. He was famous for being the founder of the online urban music platform SB.TV. He also set up Jamal Edwards Delve, a project aimed at refurbishing and reopening youth centers in the year 2021. As well as his online platform, he released an ebook, ‘Self Belief: The Vision: How To Be a Success on Your Own Terms’. His book achieved success and was the number 1 bestselling ebook series according to iBooks. Also, he directed the Chelsea FC remix video of grime artist Capo Lee’s ‘Style and Swag’ in 2019. In November 2021, he launched the 8BARS app. As of 2021, he was signed to RadicalMedia as a director. In December 2021, he directed Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” Remix, featuring Tion Wayne and Central Cee. Sadly, he died on 20th February 2022.
Jamal Edwards Passed Away At The Age Of 31
Jamal Edwards, a British entrepreneur, died on February 20, 2021, at the age of 31, his manager confirmed on Sunday. The cause of death has yet to be determined. He was best known as the inventor of the music portal SBTV, which popularized grime and launched many other performers. Chart-topper AJ Tracey was one of the first to pay tribute online, tweeting “RIP Jamal Edwards, west London legend status”.
What is Jamal Edwards Known For?
- Being an entrepreneur, author, director, DJ.
- Being the founder of the online urban music platform SB.TV.
Where is Jamal Edwards From?
Jamal Edwards was born on 24th August 1990 with the birth name of Lionel Gerard Green. He was from Luton, Bedfordshire, England. He was British by nationality and his ethnicity was Mixed. He lastly cut his 31st birthday as of 2021. As per his birthdate, his zodiac sign was Virgo and his religion was Christianity. He spent his early years in Lupton before moving to Acton, West London, where he lived with his mother Brenda, his stepfather, Patrick, and his younger sister, Tanisha. His family originate from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. As a child, he was introduced to stage school by his mother Brenda Edwards, who came fourth in the second series of The X Factor. His mother wanted him to pursue acting and drama, however, he aspired to be successful in the music industry.
Source: @geo.tv
About his education, he attended Acton High School and enjoyed subjects ICT and music. He next attended Ealing Green College where he was a part of West London College. From there, he received a BTEC Diploma in Media Moving Image.
Jamal Edwards Career Timeline and Lifestory
- Jamal Edwards started rapping during his school years. His rap name at the time was ‘SmokeyBarz’ from the acronym SB in the channel’s title.
- When he was 15, he was given a video camera, filmed friends rapping and performing, and uploaded them to his YouTube channel. These videos would eventually become his business and the beginning of SBTV. After he left school, he worked for the clothing company, Topman whilst continuing to make videos.
- Initially, the channel’s content was grime dance music, but he then began to explore other musical genres.
- He also worked for the retail chain Topman for 4 years to support himself financially while he ran SBTV.
- He was the founder of SBTV-an an online media platform to discover emerging artists which was launched in 2006. It has helped to launch the careers of many artists including Ed Sheeran.
- Moreover, he filmed some artists before they became well-known such as Jessie J’s first acoustic video, Stormzy, Ed Sheeran, Dave, Emeli Sandé, Rita Ora, Krept & Konan, Yungen, Mic Righteous, Nines, Tori Kelly, Bugzy Malone, Mist, English Frank, Aaron Unknown, and Cadet.
- As of February 2022, his YouTube Channel ‘SBTV: Music’ has gained subscribers of 1.22 Million.
- In the year 2011, SBTV was featured in a Google Chrome advert.
- The ad caused the SBTV site to crash due to the traffic and it became the second-most popular UK YouTube video of the year.
- In the year 2016, SBTV linked with the youth-focused news service, Press Association to expand into more of a mainstream multichannel video.
- In addition, he constructed collaborations with some of the world’s biggest stars, conducting the first online UK-based interviews with Drake, Nicki Minaj, and Wiz Khalifa.
- He was also into the fashion industry. He released a headwear collection on Topman (his previous place of employment) with American Freshman.
- As part of the GQ Heroes series in 2019, he hosted an open forum discussion with Adwoa Aboah on mental health.
- Not only this but also he walked in the Hermès:Step into the Frame catwalk show at London’s Nine Elms.
- In 2019, Kurt Geiger revealed Edwards as one of the faces of its ‘Characterful Style’ campaign for AW19.
- In 2020, he was announced as one of the faces of the Primark AW19 collection, celebrating 50 years of the brand.
- He had also released an ebook, ‘Self Belief: The Vision: How To Be a Success on Your Own Terms’ in 2013.
- He directed the Chelsea FC remix video of grime artist Capo Lee’s ‘Style and Swag’ in 2019.
- Moreover, he launched the 8BARS app: a ground-breaking platform supporting up and coming music stars in November 2021.
- In the year 2021, he created the pseudonym Jamal Artman to launch his DJ career, paying homage to his birth name. Under this pseudonym, he launched the house and dance music event night, Cultivation.
- He founded Jamal Edwards Delve (JED) in 2019 which is a grassroots youth-center project.
- As of 2021, he was signed to RadicalMedia as a director. He then produced commercial content in partnership with the likes of Subway and Depop.
- He also teamed up with singer-songwriter Jake Bugg in 2021.
- Next, he directed a brand-new series to showcase the unseen side of Bugg’s story, including his early years in Nottingham and the inspiration behind his music style and lyrics.
- Likewise, he directed Ed Sheeran’s “Bad Habits” Remix, featuring Tion Wayne and Central Cee in December 2021.
- He then went on to direct Fireboy’s ‘Peru’ Remix with Ed Sheeran.
- In the year 2020, he announced a partnership with the Department for Education, a three-part campaign encouraging young creatives to consider undertaking an apprenticeship. The partnership involved the grime MC P Money.
- He also joined his mother, Brenda Edwards, on ITV’s show Loose Women, where he shared “How He Built a Multi-million Pound Business & How His Mum Brenda Inspired Him” in 2021.
- In the year 2014, he helped to launch the Queen’s Young Leaders Programme with an image of Edwards, Prince William, and Prince Harry captured by a Twitter mirror. He even worked to raise awareness surrounding mental health.
- In March 2017, he made a documentary with The Guardian about male suicide where he spoke to his childhood friends who suffer from mental health. Also, he continued his work and explored mental health in the music industry in 2018.
- He was open about his own struggles, stating in an interview with Music Week: ‘Anxiety comes over me at the most random times. I wanted to create awareness. As much as music is my entry point, I feel a responsibility to talk about these other issues. I wanted to get people talking to each other and they have been, I’m happy.”
- As well as his documentary work, he collaborated with the mental health charity CALM, and wrote a column that discussed the issue for the online site, “The Book of Man”.
Source: @insider
Awards and Achievements
- Edwards was awarded an MBE in the New Years Honours list in 2014 from Elizabeth II, for his work in music and his business, SBTV.
- Edwards featured in the ES Power 1000 – London’s most influential people 2013: Deal makers, Tycoons.
- In 2014, Edwards was listed as number 2 in The Guardian’s ‘The top 30 young people in digital media’.
- On 12 September 2014, TIME Magazine named Edwards as one of their ‘Next Generation Leaders’
- In 2015, Edwards was awarded the Best New StartUp from Virgin Media and Virgin StartUp.
- Also in 2015, Edwards was named in Debrett’s list of the 500 most influential people in Britain in the New Media section alongside YouTube vloggers Zoella and Alfie Deyes.
- In May 2016 the British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) inducted Edwards into its Hall of Fame. Edwards was recognized for his contributions to the online music industry for creating the SB.TV music platform.
- Also in 2016, Edwards was named in GQ Magazine’s 100 Most Connected Men of All Time.
- Edwards was named as one of the Maserati 100 in 2016, a partnership with The Sunday Times to recognize one hundred game-changing entrepreneurs who are innovators in the business world.
- Edwards was chosen to be the ambassador for the youth charity, The Prince’s Trust in 2013. The charity is run by Prince Charles to help young people to set up their own businesses.
- Edwards has received an honorary MBA from Luton & Bedfordshire University.
- Edwards was appointed Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Sussex in September 2021
- Edwards received an honorary degree for his success, from the University of West London in November 2021.
Who was Jamal Edwards Girlfriend?
Jamal Edwards was an unmarried man. He did not marry anyone in his lifetime. He was single at the time of his death as he did not state anything about his girlfriend’s details, past affairs, relationship timeline to the media. He was living a single life happily before his death. His sexual orientation was straight and he was not gay.
How much is Jamal Edwards Net Worth?
Jamal Edwards was a multi-talented entrepreneur, author, director, DJ whose net worth was estimated to have $10 Million at the time of his death. He was the creator of SBTV and owns the Sony subsidiary record label Just Jam. He set up Jamal Edwards Delve, a project aimed at refurbishing and reopening youth centers. He also owned some of the most expensive cars, watches, and accessories. In 2018, he was announced as the first ambassador for Mercedes-Benz X-Class, through his ambassadorship Edwards launched his own YouTube series JE:SELF-BELIEF and JE:WHAT’S YOUR DRIVE. He was also named as an ambassador for Google Pixel. As per sources, he purchased a brand-new Ferrari F8 for $590,000 USD and also he owned a Tesla Model S that’s worth more than $100,000 USD. He even owned multiple house properties in and around London and Europe. His exact career earnings are still to get disclosed yet. He was living a lavish lifestyle prior to his death.
Source: @musicweek
How tall was Jamal Edwards?
Jamal Edwards was a handsome man with a height of five feet eight inches or 1.73 m. His balanced bodyweight consisted of 67 Kg. His eye color and hair color, both were black. His shoe size was 8 US. Details about her other body measurements are unavailable at a moment.
Jamal Edwards Death Cause
Jamal Edwards died on 20th February 2022 (Sunday). Celebrities and other figures gave out their statements responding to Edwards’s death after it was announced. Lady Leshurr, who also worked with Edwards on the label SB.TV said that the news was “heartbreaking” and that Edwards “gave me opportunity after opportunity to showcase my talent from Brum into London. We need to keep his name and brand alive.” He dies at 31.
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