Youtube Star, Jamal Edwards dies at 31

Post created on 1:13 pm

British YouTube star and founder of SBTV, Jamal Edwards has died at the age of 31.

Jamal was the son of singer and Loose Women presenter Brenda Edwards.

Born in 1991, he started his journey into film making at 15 when his parents gifted him a video camera as Christmas present.

Edwards founded SBTV, an online urban music platform which helped launch the careers of artists like Dave, Ed Sheeran Skepta, Rita Ora, Stormzy and Jessie J. He was appointed an MBE for services to music in 2014.

The music mogul was an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, which helps young people set up their own companies.

He reportedly encouraged Ed Sheeran to record a new verse for “Peru”, a song by Nigeria’s own Fireboy DML. The track climbed to number two in the UK charts, giving the Fireboy his first international hit.

Mourning the demise of the Youtube star, London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan in a tweet said “British music and entertainment has lost one of its brightest stars. My thoughts are with Jamal’s loved ones at this terribly sad time.”

Lady Leshur also tweeted “This man helped so many artists to become who they are today including myself,” she tweeted.

“He gave me opportunity after opportunity to showcase my talent from Brum into London. We need to keep his name and brand alive. This is painful the good always go too soon”