Jamal Edwards has spoken out about his work to promote awareness of mental health issues in the music industry.
Edwards founded SBTV back in 2007 and has since been a staple in the growth and evolution of UK grime, rap and urban scenes. The music mogul has now opened up in an interview with Music Week discussing a range of issues including his “responsibility” to promote mental health awareness.
Following his documentary about male suicide for The Guardian, Edwards explains: “I had a lot of females message me going, ‘It’s not just males.’ That made me think, ‘I need to do another one,’ so I did mental health in the music industry.” He continued: “I did [interviewed] Sasha Keable, Dave, Cleo, Despa Robinson, I caught up with some professors too, that opened a whole other thing. It was needed.”
“A lot of up-and-coming musicians feel isolated. As much as artists are becoming successful and it should inspire people, some might look at it and think, ‘Why can’t I do that? It can sometimes have a negative effect. I wanted to show people that it is glitz and glam, but you do have your down moments as well.”
“Anxiety comes over me at the most random times,” he said describing his own struggles with mental health. “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.”
Watch Jamal Edwards explores mental health in the music industry below.
The full interview with the SBTV founder is available in the latest issue of Music Week and covers a range of important topics including A&R and the future of the UK scene and SBTV’s 10th anniversary.
For subscribers of Music Week, read the full interview here.
