Month: May 2019

Khalid is currently one of the biggest artists on the planet. In fact, He’s now officially the #1 most Streamed artist in the world on Spotify!

JASMINE WITH MUSIC SUPERSTAR KHALID AT THE SOUND CHECK FOR HIS PRIVATE FAN GG IN WHITE CITY FOR HIS NEW ALBUM ”FREE SPIRIT”.

He’s a multi-platinum selling, multiple award winning, Grammy nominated artist, most of this he achieved before turning 21!

With all of this being said, he’s still somewhat of an enigma – he’s huge but do we know who he is?

He has had co-signs from Beyoncé, Elton John, Calvin Harris and more and has worked with a wide range of artists, of which he has helped to deliver their biggest selling singles. He’s performed at major award shows and even appeared on the recent episode of Saturday Night Live in the US.

He’s a bit of a Gen Z phenomenon, he communicates with his fans mainly through Twitter, where he expresses his excitement and fears, answers questions from fans and also isn’t afraid to confront their negativity.

One of the things he refers to quite often is his social anxiety. His ability to reach a generation overly-exposed and full of angst because of social media seems to be unmatched by his peers in a musical space; it’s no wonder that the queen of this Kylie Jenner was the person who first brought light to his music.

So, what with Khalid being the biggest streaming act in the world, meeting Channel 4 News- The most-watched news programme in the UK/ Europe on social media……it was a double whammy of fire!

Channel 4 News stats incase you need reminding…

· 1.5 billion ‘minutes viewed’ in 2018 across all platforms and brands.

· 2 million viewers under 34 years old on YouTube every month – watching for over 5 minutes on average.

· Over 50m video views total every month.

· 120 million minutes viewed on YouTube in March.

….So I knew that an interview with him, would bring about some really good social commentary. ENJOY!

THE JOURNEY

JASMINE
Congrats on your journey so far- biggest streaming artist, also Grammy nominated with a world tour coming….you are the definition of the American teen dream …and all of this before the age of 21?

KHALID
I know! IT’S CRAZY! ….crazy and it all feels so different – it’s been an awesome time.

JASMINE
You moved around a lot as a child with your mum in the army…Tell us about growing up as an ‘’Army brat’…you make it sound like Being in the military was a dream life for a child?

KHALID
Being an army kid with mum I noticed the impact she had on everyone with her performances. So from an early age I knew that’s what I wanted to do.
It was hard moving every 3 years. But it gave me a good perspective on the world.

USA VS EUROPE

JASMINE
What did you notice in your very unique lane about how different European teens are compared to American teens? Culturally, politically, values?

KHALID
I feel that i definitely noticed that European teens are quieter than USA teens. The interesting thing is European teens are actually quiet around adults
whereas When I’m in USA, the kids are bouncing from Wall to Wall. American kids are so energetic, we have Senior prom, superlatives. It was an Interesting perspective of both continents. I loved living in Europe but I love USA and it’s made me who I am today.
I feel like moving for me aged 17 from Europe to l Paso senior year was tough. U spend all high school making relationships and then move and feel a sense of loneliness. It can be a really dark place. I was able to tale turn that dark to light. I owe it all to my friends though – If I had no friends I’d be a different person.

JASMINE
Your first album was titled ‘’ American teen’’. Teens all over the globe now seem more politically aware than ever?

KHALID
I feel like cos of all that’s going on in the media people are becoming more politically aware. I never saw kids into politics as much in Europe but i was much younger then. But I know kids globally are making waves with their voices and I really respect that.

JASMINE
They’re calling you ‘the voice of a generation’…. Looking back at your ‘’American teen’ era, just 2 years ago…you’ve said that you were naive and young then- what were you naïve about?

KHALID
I was naive about myself and the world and what I wanted to put out. I was trusting my gut and intuition. I was naive surrounding myself with people I thought I’d be friends with.

JASMINE
Your Album flew into the top 10…then hit number 1- and stayed in charts for 6 months…it clearly has staying power? You say you were lonely moving around as a teen but you were also very socially active as President of numerous social clubs….

KHALID
(brushes Dirt off his shoulder! 😉
Going to multicultural clubs and Spanish club – it all gave me perspective. It gave me this worldiness. I ended up being one of the biggest streaming artists in the world cos I studied the world cos I embraced the world and studied people and turned that into music.
I was so in tune with the world and studied myself, When I have conversations now, I speak to people in my songs as global citizens, not citizens of various countries. Moving to el Paso was such an abrupt move. First lonely. Then music it quickly became my home. If I didn’t move there I wouldn’t have had my career. They treat me like I’ve lived there for ever.

RACISM / UNCONCIOUS BIAS

JASMINE
You have a unique sound – i hear that radio stations and record label’s found it hard to place you at the start of your career…?… Platforms were confused about where to place you due to you being a black man with a unique sound.
Record labels were asking you to change your authenticity and be more hiphop/R&B because of how you look? How stagnant, old fashioned and unconnected are record labels these days- is there a sense of unconscious bias/ racism is the music industry?

KHALID
When I first started making music people were confused….” what is he rap? pop? folk? what is he?. I like making every kind of music. I have an R&B voice singing on pop music. I was able to transcend boundaries SO I was lucky that my label embraced me. It’s about a partnership that’s comfortable, I know there’s a lot I don’t know. Having a label that supports my creative vision is important.

JASMINE
Thats very short sighted of record labels…..

KHALID
There’s definitely a sense of bias – they see a black man and think hmmm. However, why should I limit myself because I’m a black man!? Nowadays there’s so many artists pushing the boundaries. People are pushing the edges of what it’s like to being a musician.

SUICIDE

JASMINE
You’ve performed the track 1-800-273-8255 with Logic and singer Alessia Cara. The song’s title is the phone number for America’s National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and its lyrics focus on mental health issues. Tell us why it was important for you to get involved with this song- why did you want to draw attention to suicide and mental health?

KHALID
For me it was super important to be a part of the suicide prevention hotline in America. It made me see I can communicate with my fans around depression and anxiety. Now people are coming to me about their difficulties. If you can be connected it impacts your soul and heart. Instead of being sad I’m happy I’m able to help them share in a positive light.

JASMINE
There have been a slew of deaths in music recently …Keith Flint, Avicci, Chester Bennington, Chris Cornell, etc…. You’ve become famous very fast and very young, Did you / do you have enough mental health and pastoral care in the music industry?

KHALID
Having convos with my fans about the song 1-800 is wild. They tell me i have helped save their lives or talk about things. I’m in awe thinking ‘wow – you barely know me …but we all share so many things in life. Making that song made my relationship with my fans so strong.
I see the impact my music has on people. If I wasn’t helping people through my music I’d still be helping via music and affect the masses.
When it comes to my own mental health, I taught myself that If I have a problem I take it to the studio and write about it.

FREEDOM

JASMINE
Your NEW / SOPHOMORE ALBUM- FREE SPIRIT- debuted at number 1 – it’s about your sense of freedom…are you a free spirit…you said that you ‘’don’t think you ever experience the freedom your friends have now’’….what are your restrictions…what has this life of success and fame mean that you have sacrificed?

KHALID
I acknowledge that I’m not a free spirit. But it’s not hard to attain. I mean it is. One of the things that restricts me is my schedule. But I find freedom in my music when I’m Stage and singing to fans. When I clock out though and head home there is lots I wanna do but can’t. But I’m not mad, when it’s all over I’m gonna miss the work, the dedication all of that.

YOUTH VIOLENCE

JASMINE
R&B is super healthy in the USA….but not as huge in the UK. We have a huge problem with young people and stabbings here. Grime and drill are also one of our most popular music genres… With all our youth violence we could do with some mellow R&B? How much do you think the music we consume impacts our behaviour?

KHALID
Music we engage with doesn’t have an impact on behaviour. Some people only listen to melodies not lyrics. I hear a folk or rock song. When people tell stories it’s coming from a real place in their mind.
I listen to trap music all the time. But I’m not shooting people or doing drugs. It depends on your personality. There are so many rap songs I love …grime is just the stories people are telling to get out of their communities. I can see that there might be some people who might be impacted by the music but it’s too easy to blame music and not the real issues.

THE GREAT KHALID FOUNDATION

JASMINE
Earlier this month you accomplished a huge goal by starting a foundation for Music & Fine Arts in underserved communities and kicked it off in El Paso. With Performing Arts Scholarship winners!
Tell us about your School scholarships- giving young people from working class backgrounds an equal chance at them living their best life. How and why did this begin? Why is it important? What has it changed?

KHALID
I always said that If I wasn’t making music I’d still be working teaching music. So now I have this platform it’s time for me to give back to the community who embraced me .A lot of schools don’t have arts and music opportunities. I definitely wanna be an advocate for spreading how important art is to the world. It’s so important to implement these options. Growing up job opportunities and information was limited. We were told about being a doctor, scientist and so on, but no-one tells you that you can be an music engineer or a journalist or a music therapist.

JASMINE
You’ve accomplished more in 2 years than many music stars mange in their whole careers….

KHALID
I’M only 21 …..Its only been 21years I’ve been alive. I can’t wait to see what I can do when I’m 40!

JASMINE
-You were named last month as one of the @time 100 most influential people in 2019!
-Barack Obama included your music on his annual-best-list….
-This era of music stars have found their political voices too….-What’s been the catalyst for this ?

KHALID
The catalyst for artists finding out political voices is we have people like Kendrick Lemar. He’s one of the most acts we have today. He’s the leader at the forefront. And so many others. So these kids are learning from them on behalf and finding their voice to speak out about their communities about the relationship between the government and the world.

JASMINE
Do you think your own music will become more socially conscious in the future?

KHALID
In the future I definitely feel that my music will become more socially and politically conscious. I can’t write love songs forever. It takes time & education though.

JASMINE
You are politically minded, but unlike other music names like Kanye, you also said you didn’t fancy meeting Donald Trump – why not?

KHALID
I don’t feel like Donald Trump is anything I’d wanna be with ya know.

JASMINE
But he has said some disparaging things about your community. Focusing back on El Paso – it was the site of Trump’s recent border crackdown. He’s linked the border wall and immigration with rates of crime and been criticised for stoking fear and division. What do you think about DT’s rhetoric? He linked border Wall with immigration and cried and language around a community you love.

KHALID
I feel there’s so many other young people for kids can look up to. Kids are the future of the world.
Donald Trump won’t be President forever. That’s when it’ll take someone else to come in to change things…

JASMINE
Someone else like your fellow El Paso former musician Beto O’Rourke, who used to be a punk rocker now turned politician?. He is from El Paso – and launched his democratic campaign for president there. What do you think of him? Are your friends/people in your community excited by him? His chances?

KHALID
Beto- that’s my guy! He launched his campaign. We have convos. He’s inspiring people in politics and I inspire via my music so i feel like we work hand in hand. People are inspired by him. I feel his odds are good!

JASMINE
What can we expect from your Arena tour this summer- at aged 21! (UK TOUR 17/18 SEPTEMBER)

KHALID
From my arena tour you can expect a lot of positive fun energy dance moves and cool songs!

JASMINE
You’ve accomplished the first chapter of your journey- what’s next?

KHALID
Next for my journey… I’m on the path of learning about myself and my spirit. And I feel like in the future my music will become more introspective.

The Scene on BBC Radio London- 02/05/2019 – Blog by multi-media content creator Lucrese Grehoua.

JASMINE WITH THE SCENE GUESTS……

On Thursday 2nd April The Scene introduced no nonsense former Vogue model exposing the dark secrets of the industry through her new book The Model Manifesto, London born pioneer and co-founder of the world’s first video magazine ‘GUAP MAG’, young Jazz vocalist of the year and three female musketeers leading London’s naughtiest podcast!

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JASMINE WITH JAZZ SINGER SONGWRITER CHERISE ADAMS-BURNETT ON THE SCENE- BBC RADIO LONDON.

First on the show is Cherise Adams Burnett who surprises listeners with her infectious laugh and energy. Cherise from Luton speakers on the diverse and culturally rich area and how much she loved living there as a child. However, to pursue a serious career in music she left her comfort zone at the age of 18 and moved to South East London to give it a shot!

The world of Jazz, Cherise explains, is an elitist genre of music that makes it hard for underprivileged and younger people to begin a career in. However her early love for the music would fuel her to approach South-East London based organisation,’ Tomorrow’s Warriors’, an innovative artist development organisation giving free tuition to women and those from the African diaspora. They took a shot on Cherise, and now she urges young people trying to enter the Jazz industry to approach them!

Cherise recently won vocalist of the year at the Jazz FM awards, something she says she did not expect – or at least she tried to bury any competitive mindsets and focus on having a good night out with her mother! She goes on to reveal that due to her class and financial status, she never believed she would end up being a Jazz singer. Humbly, she thanks everyone who invested in her even when she didn’t have the money to pay back.

Cherise expresses her gratitude towards a new, growing community of young jazz musicians who are challenging the elitist attitudes to genre of music. She says to get support, there are loads of young instrumentalists to get in contact with such as Moses Boyd and Femi Koleoso. To get into Jazz, Cherise says that once you find one of these people, you find a whole community and are pretty much sorted! We guess the rest is up to you!

For young people wanting a relaxed night of Jazz, Cherise recommends some great places to go to including The Royal Albert in New Cross on a Sunday night, The Albany after 11pm and plenty more that you can check out here.
Find Cherise on Instagram at @cherisemusic and on her website https://www.cherisemusic.com/.
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JASMINE WITH FORMER VOGUE MODEL- NOW LEGAL EAGLE- AND AUTHOR OF NEW BOOK ”THE MODEL MANIFESTO”- ON THE SCENE- BBC RADIO LONDON.

Next to bless The Scene with uncensored and critical information that she believes all young models need to know is Leanne Maskell. She is former Vogue, Asos and London Fashion Week model and now author The Model Manifesto, an anti-exploitation guide for young girls trying to navigate the industry.

Cyprus born Leanne unexpectedly began modelling at the age of 13, but had never really considered as she was being bullied for how she looked in school, being tall, having a lisp and even being told she has ‘yellow skin’. After her parents divorced her mum took her to the only modelling agency local to her in Cyprus. The goal for her mother was not play about, but to try to make some real income for the family.

Leanne speaks on her lucky break, revealing that in her very small Island of only 800 thousand people, she was probably the only tall, blonde girl and was able to easily infiltrate the modelling industry. However, for people in places like London, she explains that 1% of hopefuls will be signed to an agency, and only 1% will have a moderately successful career. Though her mother managed her as a child, she truly began her modelling as a career when she arrived to London. Leanne admits however that she never really enjoyed it, but believed this was her identity and knew subconsciously it’s what people knew her as since she was young girl.

Leanne says there are dire mental and health effects that come from modelling, and believes there should be a strict age limit of 18 to protect young girls from the dangerous expectations that agencies have of them. She recalls a girl believing she was fat at a size 10 and says for girls who start out with young, tiny bodies, the pressures start to mount when their womanhood begins, causing them to put on weight in parts of their bodies that aren’t typically visually appealing to agencies.

She also speaks of how tiring modelling is, referencing 14-year-old Russian model Vlada Dzyuba, who collapsed and died after walking off a runway in Shangai during a 13-hour-shift. Vlada who apparently was ‘too afraid’ to say she was feeling unwell was found to be suffering from severe exhaustion.
26-year-old Leanne put an end to her modelling career at the start of 2019, freeing herself of the mental and emotional burdens that the industry had imposed on her. Though having a successful 13-year career, she says she did not enjoy any of it. Responding online to questions demanding to know why she stayed, she says, “Modelling is very addictive as it becomes your entire identity and I couldn’t really see a way out. It is really hard not to get pulled back in with the seemingly high rates of pay and addiction of being accepted by strangers.”

Her book details gruelling treatment she was subjected to from being told to lose weight whilst already being severely body dysmorphic, dealing with uncooperative agencies who would not take into consideration that she was studying and even having her tights changed by two men at once. But although The Model Manifesto boldly and bravely speaks on the truths about her previous agents and experiences, she does admit that she has a whole section in her book showing gratitude for the things she has learned.

Leanne ends her time on The Scene by explaining the industry concisely, saying that agencies simply see models as can of beans rather than real people, constantly throwing them in unforeseen situations with no humanistic compassion or protection. Consequently, these human beings become like children, heavily dependent on the protection and the validation of their agencies whilst being taken advantage of.

Find Leanne’s heart-wrenching book on Amazon, and read more about her on her website and at @TheModelManifesto on Instagram

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JASMINE WITH IBRAHIM KAMARA- EDITOR OF THE WORLDS FIRST AR VIDEO MAGAZINE- ONTHE SCENE- BBC RADIO LONDON.

Next up, a nifty pioneer and award-winning GUAP magazine co-founder – Ibrahim Kamara. GUAP which is an acronym for ‘Great Understanding And Power’ is a cool and funky magazine made to inspire and entertain young London creatives.

But GUAP is not your traditional print platform; rather it is an ‘augmented reality’ magazine – and the first one in the world! Allow us to explain. The magazines are distributed freely at launch events, and works by scanning your phone over any page. A video then comes to life on your actual phone allowing you to see unique content. There is no need to hover your phone over the page, once your video starts to move, you are able to go away and watch the rest of it!

Ibrahim who also self shoots on his magazine as well as directing a team of contributors says that his platform is one of the only ones that appeals to young Londoners by building a genuine community rather than wanting to work with brands first and foremost. He has however worked with plenty, ranging from Nike, Adidas, the Evening Standard, NME and more.

Ibrahim who has never actually had a job and works on GUAP magazine full time has been honoured as a digital pioneer by the Mayor of London and Top 100 Most Influential BAME leaders in the U.K. He attributes this the vast London creative scene, explaining that there are a lot of young people who are now able to garner audiences that traditional brands have not in the past been able to.

Modestly, Ibrahim says “Obviously the achievements are good but that’s not what we’re focused on”, and adds, “I don’t feel pressure because I’m not doing this for others to see what I’m doing”. He says he has a set vision and many other goals and aspirations. Some of them include making a creative space at The Roundhouse and one day he hopes access one million people. Ibrahim says it’s a ‘slow and steady journey’ and vehemently insists that he will never feel pressure to conform to a creative rat race industry. He is simply grateful that he is currently able to live off of his magazine.

To find more about Ibrahim, check him out on Twitter and Instagram @ibrahimkamama_ and view the GUAP movements at @GUAPMAG on both platforms!
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JASMINE WITH THE LADIES FROM ”THE RECEIPTS PODCAST”ON THE SCENE- BBC RADIO LONDON!

Last to bless The Scene are the Destiny’s Child of the podcast world. Audrey who describes herself as a ‘professor of Wig-ology’, Milena who refers to herself as a hot mamacita and Tolly T who ‘ain’t payin’ for NO date’!

The women form ‘The Receipts Podcast’, a leading podcast that started in 2016 when the ladies realised that there were no people covering their types of experiences on radio. They decided to take to Twitter to tell their unique and funny life-lived stories, building a no-judgement zone and a place crack a bit of banter with people who could relate.

They said they were encouraged to then start the podcast when a similar male version commented on their Twitter conversations, challenging them to start recording their conversations on a wider and more open medium.

The ladies, who were once a group of 5 set up a meeting in a coffee shop where they ended up speaking for hours on end. Finally being kicked out and told they needed to leave – they realised they had to go through with the idea. They recorded a pilot episode which Aubrey says was a ‘shambles’, but finally were able to whittle the group down to the three ladies who were committed to making the platform a success.

Before settling with the now famous name, they admit they had gone through a plethora of potentially awful branding, nearly calling themselves ‘Predrinks’ and ‘Can’t deal’. But after coming across a video of Whitney Houston being accused of something in an interview and clapping back with the line “where are the receipts?” they knew they had to go fourth and let the world know that if anyone has receipts, it’s them.

The bubbly girls whose podcast is almost a London version of Sex and The City say their Whatsapp group chats are filled with ‘consistent, high grade filth’, but is also a real and unfiltered representation of their personal lives. They jokingly (but quite seriously) name Beyonce, Cardi B and even Celine Dion as some of the names they would love to have on the podcast one day.

The ladies speak truthfully on the goal behind all the banter – they want to normalise conversations surrounding sex with women and empower more introverted females, enabling them listen in and have their views corroborated by people who are unafraid to say things like – in the words of Tolly T – ‘faking orgasms is rewarding men for bad behaviour’.

The Receipts Podcast which has featured episodes such as ‘My Family are Racist, ‘He Keeps Giving me STI’s, ‘I cheated on my boyfriend with a pastor’, and ‘Should I Fake my Orgasms’ is now up for a British Podcast Awards for Relationships and Sex, and the girls have a little giggle whilst asking The Scene listeners to vote for them.. No seriously – go vote now! They’re amazing!
Find their hilariously entertaining show here and follow each of the ladies on Twitter at @tolly_t, @ghanasfinestx and @milenasanchezx

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Blog by multi-media content creator Lucrese Grehoua.