Jamal Edwards: Pioneering music entrepreneur

Edwards was an early exponent in the world of online video, bringing previously unknown musical acts and genres to online audiences

Edwards was instrumental in breaking acts including Ed Sheeran and Rita Ora (AFP/Getty)

Jamal Edwards was a pioneer in internet videography, a cultural catalyst, philanthropist and entrepreneur who helped launch and develop the careers of a number of musicians, including Rita Ora and Ed Sheeran.

Edwards, who has died from a sudden illness, aged 31, was an early exponent in the world of online video, bringing previously unknown musical acts and genres to online audiences.

Jamal Edwards was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, in 1990 and grew up with his mother Brenda, stepfather Patrick and younger sister Tanisha. He left school with few qualifications, his teachers telling him that he would “only be going to work in Safeways”. However, through workshops at youth clubs, he taught himself the basics of sound and video recording which would shape his future career.

When Edwards came across YouTube, newly launched, he found very little original musical content and still less featuring Black musicians. He resolved to bring London’s musical underground to a wider audience, later recalling in an interview: “I remember I was just sitting there and was thinking, ‘Why can’t I find these online?’ and if they were online it was just bad-quality versions, so I thought, ‘Alright, cool, I’m going to try and film people in my area and upload it to YouTube.’ And from there it just started building and growing.”

Jamal Edwards: ‘An incredible innovator and entrepreneur’ (PA)

Edwards launched his online SmokeyBarz TV (SBTV) channel on YouTube in 2006, aged just 15, after his parents gave him a video camera for Christmas. Starting out with films of himself and his friends, he reached out to the local scene and began promoting virtually unknown acts. “I started approaching random people,” he recalled. “I just went up to them and asked: ‘Can I film you for my YouTube channel?’” From early and modest beginnings, the channel developed a cult following worldwide and soon entered the mainstream.

He became a key figure in popularising grime, the novel musical genre which had evolved out of the UK garage and jungle scene in the early 2000s. Through his SBTV channel, Edwards was in a position to champion the new form, bringing it to the world outside of the capital.

Edwards with his MBE in 2015 (Getty)

By the age of 20, Edwards had created his own record label, Just Jam Records, having signed a deal with Sony RCA, and took on the grime star, Maxsta, as its first act. Today, his SBTV YouTube channel has more than 1.2 million subscribers.

Edwards was awarded an MBE in 2015 for his services to music. He had worked as an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, a charity founded by Prince Charles to help young people with starting their own businesses. The Trust described him as “an incredible innovator and entrepreneur” and “an inspiration for so many young people, through our work and beyond”. Last year he created Jamal Edwards Delve, a network of open-access and drop-in activities for young people in West London, including music, art and filmmaking workshops.

He shared his entrepreneurial experiences in the book Self Belief: The Vision – How to Be a Success on Your Own Terms, published by Penguin. This work uses a combination of memoir, professional tips and game playing to motivate his young readers, encouraging them to achieve their business goals.

He had just played a DJ set at a London bar and returned to his mother’s house in the early hours of Sunday 20 February when he had a heart attack and died.

Sheeran paid tribute to Edwards, recognising the contribution he had made to his own career. He said: “Jamal is my brother. His light shone so bright. He only used it to illuminate others and never asked for anything in return ... I would not be here without him, professionally and personally.”

Jamal Edwards, entrepreneur and philanthropist, born 24 August 1990, died 20 February 2022