An informative yet entertaining blog to inspire young people. MCM is run by a dedicated and self motivated team (aged 19-21) whose aim is to showcase the ins and outs of the media industry and entertain the youth. Check out our page weekly for new articles discussing Fashion, Sport, Music and Lifestyle. MCM have so much to offer, from our Youtube channel to our events.SOMEWHERETO__ DO WHAT I SAY, NOT WHAT I DO - BY DIAMOND KELEKELO (18/07/2014)
On the 10th of July MCM got invited to be a part of somewhereto__, which is an organisation that helps young people gain the appropriate access for their needs, either it being physical or digital, across the creative spectrum. Somewhere to allow young people to gain the appropriate support, contact and advice they need to make their enterprise happen, through endorsement that will be of genuine value to their personal, education and professional development.
The day was jam packed with workshops, nibbles and the yummiest cupcakes I have ever tasted in my whole entire life, and I am not the biggest fan of cake. There were mentors from all media platforms such as Aaron Bridgeman who’s a presenter on SBTV, and started off as an actor before winning a competition on Channel 4 which led him to presenting, and many more, who aided in answering some of our questions on how to build a business, across the media platform.
Apart from the food and Q&A, it was a good opportunity to have a meet and greet with the very handsome Benjamin Drew, formally known as Plan B who is an English rapper. As well as rapping he also has multiple creative talents as he is also a songwriter, singer, actor and director. He first emerged in the U.K due to his album Who needs action when you got words in 2006.
Aside from the music, he has also gained himself a professional career in acting, and has been in major U.K films such as Adulthood (2008), Harry Brown (2009), 4.3.2.1 (2010) and The Sweeney (2012). Additionally, in 2012 he released a film named III Manors, which he wrote and directed himself, and released an accompanied soundtrack which became his second number one album.
Aside from staring at his handsome face, and having an unfiltered mouth that led me to embarrassingly tell him that he looks better in real life, thankfully for me because of his friendly and easy to talk to personality, we connected for a minute and he knew that was a sincere compliment. As I took my pen and notebook ready to be shocked by this man’s passion for his craft, I felt connected to him as a writer, through his writing aesthetic. Benjamin drew, is not only a writer, but a storyteller. Music to him is not about money, but how the story is told, to help young people turn their life around. He uses music to convey a message, through a linear narrative to engage with his audience and let the words rush through their ears, as fast as an erupting volcano to create effect.
When asked where his inspiration for music came from he spoke about his charity Each One, Teach One (EOTO), which he founded in 2012 after the riots. EOTO was created to improve the lives of young people, aged 14-25 by providing access to new skills, training and support.
It came about as an inspiration from his life, before fame and success. He spoke about getting kicked out of school, having people doubting him because he was not cut from the same cloth, academically as some of his peers. His inspiration came from the simple argument that, kids who do not respond to academic achievement are bottled up by society’s value and this then leads them to ‘doubt themselves’. Materialism from the media undervalues working class youths, and teaches them that to own good things is what defines you as a person. The inspiration for EOTO stems from this view and he argues that the riots proved this to be true. In his view you “can’t measure success, on how many kids pass a course”, and until this view is challenged there will be misdemeanors on the streets.
Plan B also personally, opened up about some of the obstacles he faced growing up in east London, which led him to want to strive for success. He spoke about how hard it was growing up in the ‘hood,’ as most would describe certain parts of London, and having to illegally drive his mums ‘mash up’ Peugeot to music school, because he knew that if he risked it and took bus, due to the area beef, he probably would not have made it out alive. Post codes, in his view create boundaries to success as kids fear other gangs.
He opened up even deeper by letting us know that his musical inspiration came from his drunk, homeless godfather, as he was the closest to a father to him, as his left at a very young age. He spoke about how his godfather introduced him to musical artists such as the Beatles and this is what inspired his writing, as music from the 60’s had soul and meaning. although his godfather taught him a thing or two about music, due to the lifestyle he was living, Ben chose not to let him influence other factors of his. He used his godfather’s lifestyle, with this motto “Do what I say, Not what I do”, as inspiration to get ahead in the game through hard work and by taking risks. His zeal and stubbornness, to not end up like the crack head on the street, is how he managed to create Plan B.
The day was jam packed with workshops, nibbles and the yummiest cupcakes I have ever tasted in my whole entire life, and I am not the biggest fan of cake. There were mentors from all media platforms such as Aaron Bridgeman who’s a presenter on SBTV, and started off as an actor before winning a competition on Channel 4 which led him to presenting, and many more, who aided in answering some of our questions on how to build a business, across the media platform.
Apart from the food and Q&A, it was a good opportunity to have a meet and greet with the very handsome Benjamin Drew, formally known as Plan B who is an English rapper. As well as rapping he also has multiple creative talents as he is also a songwriter, singer, actor and director. He first emerged in the U.K due to his album Who needs action when you got words in 2006.
Aside from the music, he has also gained himself a professional career in acting, and has been in major U.K films such as Adulthood (2008), Harry Brown (2009), 4.3.2.1 (2010) and The Sweeney (2012). Additionally, in 2012 he released a film named III Manors, which he wrote and directed himself, and released an accompanied soundtrack which became his second number one album.
Aside from staring at his handsome face, and having an unfiltered mouth that led me to embarrassingly tell him that he looks better in real life, thankfully for me because of his friendly and easy to talk to personality, we connected for a minute and he knew that was a sincere compliment. As I took my pen and notebook ready to be shocked by this man’s passion for his craft, I felt connected to him as a writer, through his writing aesthetic. Benjamin drew, is not only a writer, but a storyteller. Music to him is not about money, but how the story is told, to help young people turn their life around. He uses music to convey a message, through a linear narrative to engage with his audience and let the words rush through their ears, as fast as an erupting volcano to create effect.
When asked where his inspiration for music came from he spoke about his charity Each One, Teach One (EOTO), which he founded in 2012 after the riots. EOTO was created to improve the lives of young people, aged 14-25 by providing access to new skills, training and support.
It came about as an inspiration from his life, before fame and success. He spoke about getting kicked out of school, having people doubting him because he was not cut from the same cloth, academically as some of his peers. His inspiration came from the simple argument that, kids who do not respond to academic achievement are bottled up by society’s value and this then leads them to ‘doubt themselves’. Materialism from the media undervalues working class youths, and teaches them that to own good things is what defines you as a person. The inspiration for EOTO stems from this view and he argues that the riots proved this to be true. In his view you “can’t measure success, on how many kids pass a course”, and until this view is challenged there will be misdemeanors on the streets.
Plan B also personally, opened up about some of the obstacles he faced growing up in east London, which led him to want to strive for success. He spoke about how hard it was growing up in the ‘hood,’ as most would describe certain parts of London, and having to illegally drive his mums ‘mash up’ Peugeot to music school, because he knew that if he risked it and took bus, due to the area beef, he probably would not have made it out alive. Post codes, in his view create boundaries to success as kids fear other gangs.
He opened up even deeper by letting us know that his musical inspiration came from his drunk, homeless godfather, as he was the closest to a father to him, as his left at a very young age. He spoke about how his godfather introduced him to musical artists such as the Beatles and this is what inspired his writing, as music from the 60’s had soul and meaning. although his godfather taught him a thing or two about music, due to the lifestyle he was living, Ben chose not to let him influence other factors of his. He used his godfather’s lifestyle, with this motto “Do what I say, Not what I do”, as inspiration to get ahead in the game through hard work and by taking risks. His zeal and stubbornness, to not end up like the crack head on the street, is how he managed to create Plan B.
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