Luton born and West London bred, Jamal Edwards is the man behind online production enterprise SB.TV, one of most respected names in the UK’s Grime scene.
Heavily influenced by music growing up, most notably by his mother, Brenda Edwards, a passionate singer who rose to prominence as a finalist on The X Factor, it was inevitable Edwards would go into a creative career. During secondary school he’d become solidly involved in grime music, taking on the alias Smokey Barz and experiencing considerable underground success as an emcee.
However after a dizzying number of work placements from Bid Up TV to Cambridge Theatre to ITV and still only 16 (24/08/90), Jamal changed tack and founded SB.TV. From first uploading videos of friends rapping for fun he noticed a serious lack of online representation for grime music. Music heads wanted easily accessible and relatable visuals, which at the time was sorely lacking.
Almost four years later and what has SB.TV achieved? Views are in the millions, over 10,000 subscribers, over 300 videos and counting and a partnership with internet giants YouTube. Alongside such a sparkling track record Edward’s has gone onto bigger projects including the creation of the video diary series for chart topper Tinchy Stryder and working closely alongside grime’s pioneer DJ, Kiss 100’s Logan Sama.
SB.TV encompasses videos that champion everyone from the up and coming to established UK talent from, Wiley, Chipmunk & Tinchy Stryder to Kano, D Double E & Dizzee Rascal; and it’s fair to say since its birth has had an undeniably meteoric rise. With such an astonishing work rate, rapid progression as a videographer, international plans in the pipeline and a mammoth following, SB.TV can only go from strength to strength.