World News
Jamal Edwards, music entrepreneur who helped launch career of Ed Sheran, Skpeta, others dies aged 31
British entrepreneur and YouTube star Jamal Edwards has died at the age of 31, his company has told the BBC.
He was the founder of SBTV, an online urban music platform which helped launch the careers of artists like Dave, Ed Sheeran and Skepta.
Edwards is the son of singer and Loose Women presenter Brenda Edwards, who said she was “completely devastated”.
Born in Luton, Edwards was appointed an MBE for services to music in 2014.
A pioneering figure in British rap and grime music, he also became an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, a youth charity run by the Prince of Wales which helps young people set up their own companies.
He attended the Brit Awards earlier this month and was understood to have performed as a DJ at a gig in north London on Saturday night. No details have been released about his death, other than it happened on Sunday morning.
Edwards first got into film-making after his parents gave him a video camera as a Christmas present when he was 15. His mother said he was an “inspiration”.
SOURCE: BBC