Jasmine Dotiwala OBE

JASMINE AT THE HOUSE OF COMMONS FOR THE YOUTH PARLIAMENT ANNUAL DEBATE!
Young uns these days have it easy. Honestly. I feel so strongly about this that in the next few weeks I’m going to film myself having a rant on youtube. All I hear these days is how hard life as a young person is, but all I see around me are doors open wide to let them in- we can open doors but you have to walk through them yourselves!
As a youth I was working after school teaching ballet and streetdance, whilst at college I had summer jobs in Selfridges and Liberty. Whilst at university I was teaching aerobics in my local community as well as teaching jazz dance classes at Pineapple Dance Studios. I worked night shifts in my first TV job and I did it all with a smile cos I loved learning. There are media placements and workshops and courses that are free these days and I have young people calling in with excuses like ‘’its raining so I’m late’’, ‘’I didn’t know where I was going’’, ‘’I feel ill can I come another day’’. Really!? The internet tells you all you need to know about directions, rain ain’t never stopped me doing a damn thing and you don’t want to take opportunities that are handed to you on a plate? Really? Then you deserve to be miserable and unemployed at home!

This week I’ve witnessed amazing young people from the UK Youth Parliament speak at the House Of Commons, watched and met engaged youth at Media Trust take part in community journalist mentor sessions, seen hundreds of youngsters turn up to the Ultimate Seminar and next week I cannot wait to attend the Sprit Of London Awards (SOLA).
There are now more avenues than ever for youth to get involved with huge organisations and get connected on that first step of their career ladders!

I attended THE SPIRIT OF LONDON AWARDS last year at the Royal Albert Hall-it was an experience equal to the BRITS and MOBOS and even more satisfying as it honours and champions young people doing great things!
This years awards in association with PlayStation is on MONDAY DECEMBER 10TH at the O2 ARENA in NORTH GREENWICH.
Now in its 4th Year the awards were launched by the Damilola Taylor Trust in 2009 as a legacy project to Damilola and all the other young people lost to youth violence on streets of London through the Years. The aim of SOLA is to demonstrate to young people just how much their positive endeavours matter and how much they are valued. Looking to emulate the great celebrity awards events like BRITS and MOBOS with the only difference being that it is the young unsung heroes of London that become the celebrities for this event!
This years line- up is both amazing and eclectic and includes Labrinth, Diversity, Maverick Sabre, Chase & Status, Stooshe, Angel, Noisettes, ACM Choir feat Mizz Camara ,Mcfly and no doubt many more! Last year there were celebs, sports stars, everyone dressed in black tie and the show was produced beautifully!
The award categories cover virtually every aspect of interest and engagement for young people. The awards are open to young people aged 15 to 25 unless stated. Categories include Young London heroes (5-15), London Community Champions, Achievement through Music, Achievement through Sport, Achievement through the Arts, Achievement through Education, Achievement through Media, Achievement through Fashion, Young Business Entrepreneur, UK National Young Campaigner of the Year (5-15).
One final award is that of LONDON LEGEND – This award is voted for by young people and is given to an iconic Londoner they feel has graced London as a positive adult role model. In 2009 it was Sir Michael Caine – 2010 Barbara Windsor – 2011 Harry Redknapp! I can’t wait to see who wins this year!

In an arrangement with UK Athletics and Team GB London 2012 all the awards on the night will be presented by medallists from the Olympic and Paralympic squads- how exciting and incentivising for the young winners!.
Olympian Christine Ohuruogu told us “The Spirit of London Awards is such an important event and I have been lucky enough to have been involved every year from the start. This has been a fantastic year for London but the inner city areas still face huge challenges and so we should not lose sight of how important a project like this is – Putting the spotlight on the positive things young people are doing is not just refreshing it is vital if we are not to allow the small negative faction get all the attention – This is unfortunately what has tended to happen and SOLA brings some much needed balance in this respect”
SOLA Ambassador Dean Atta who is a very active voice for young people enthused “getting nominated for SOLA changed my life as it gave me so much more confidence in not just my poetry but also my ability to inspire others – The SOLA Foundation is now like a huge collective family of like -minded young people all of whom want to see positive change where negative issues effect young people – The Wall of Silence project shows just what we can achieve as a cohesive unit and it was great to see the police recognise this”

JASMINE WITH SOLA SUPPORTER LABRINTH!
Music star Labrinth who also performed at SOLA 2010 stated, “I love this event and all that it stands for. In 2010 I played an acoustic version of Bob Dylan’s timeless classic ‘Times They Are A-Changin’ as I think that it’s relevant to the project, and how it illuminates the positive things young people are doing in London”.
Ashley Banjo of Diversity said, “We performed at the inaugural event at the Alexandra Palace back in 2009 and then again at the Royal Albert Hall last Year. It truly is an amazing show and it is largely the unsung heroes that light up the stage with their stories – Diversity are so proud to be part of the SOLA family and cannot wait to get on The O2 stage this year to do our bit for the cause”
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson added, “The Spirit of London Awards represents everything that is great about London and it is so refreshing to see young people being rewarded for their positive contributions on such a grand scale”
Finally David Cameron – Prime Minister said, “These awards represent everything that is great about the young people of our Country. They are a credit to their community and to their city and I am delighted to see what a fantastic job the Damilola Taylor Trust has done in the way the project now has the young people who have come through the awards actually running the event. An extraordinary achievement and a fitting finale to what has been an amazing Year for our Capital City”
Every year I settle down with the Adidas family and my young reporters to watch this brilliant event and I will be front and centre cheering this years young winners on!
For Community Group Discount tickets tickets@solafoundation.org.uk
For all other tickets
https://tickets.axs.com/eventShopperV3UK.html?wr=29295a9a-4b28-4f5e-917c-9ac54efc1da8&skin=theo23
For press enquiries press@solafoundation.org.uk

MOVERS AND SHAKERS IN THE UK MUSIC INDUSTRY AT THE ULTIMATE SEMINAR.
Next it was time for the annual Ultimate Seminar. I used to attend this as a new young buck in the music game way back in 1997. Back then it was called the Urban Seminar it taught me a lot about the industry and how it works. It also help me set up my network of peers in the industry I would claim as my own in future years. This event goes from strength to strength and this year saw a great turn out. Basically it’s a weekend event where hundreds of youngsters who want to work in some area of the music industry gather to hear a variety of special panels and speakers talk about the industry, how to do things, the highs and the lows. This years event at the University of Westminster saw a multitude of team UK players like singer Delilah, DJ Manny Norte, Island Records president Darcus Beese and many more come and share their specialist knowledge with the audience.

JASMINE WITH ULTIMATE SEMINAR FOUNDER KWAME!
My mate Kwame Kwaten- Co – founder, The Ultimate Seminar told me ‘’We started The Ultimate Seminar because there was a need to bridge that gap from classroom to boardroom – the music industry can be a treacherous sea for a person to swim in and sometimes you just need a heads up, someone to say I’m going through that too, and here’s how I got around it and dealt with it. This year we’ve had a great turn out and some real pearls of wisdom come from the stage and I think there are a lot of people that will leave today better off for it’’.

JASMINE WITH ULTIMATE SEMINAR SUPPORTER WRETCH32
Producer/songwriter Lucas Secon emphasized ‘’I feel it’s important to be able to relay to budding artists, producers and people in the industry how to break out worldwide from England, as England is now seen as a musically trend setting place and I feel like with my background in producing and songwriting with Christina Aguilera, Sugababes, Kylie, Britney, Mos Def all the way to alternative Gym Class Heroes, I’d be able to shed some different light on it’’.

ULTIMATE SEMINAR FOUNDER KWAME WITH ISLANDS RECORDS HEAD HONCHO-DARCUS!
One of my peers from many years ago, a great UK music man- Tim Blacksmith (Stargate Productions) smiled and looked proud as he stated ‘’The Utimate Seminar is a great thing to have – it’s important to inspire young people to be a part of making great music and being involved in the industry, whether it’s being a publisher right through to being in A&R. It’s always good to give back, I was one of those faces once, so I know how inspirational it was for me to hear some of the people talk and it gave me ideas’’.
Current TEAMUK chart hottie Wretch 32 said ‘’I think people have learnt a lot at The Ultimate Seminar – I’ve learnt a lot, and I hope that everyone we’ve spoken to has learnt a lot, without this event it just wouldn’t have been possible’’.

DELILAH AT THE ULTIMATE SEMINAR
So you see people, there are so many things out there opening doors to us all-you just have to open your eyes, search for them and act!

MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN

To the citizens of the United States of America from Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

In light of your failure in recent years to nominate competent candidates for President of the USA and thus to govern yourselves, we here
by give notice of the revocation of your independence, effective immediately. (You should look up ‘revocation’ in the Oxford English Dictionary.)

Her Sovereign Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will resume monarchical duties over all states, commonwealths, and territories (except North Dakota, which she does not fancy).

Your new Prime Minister, David Cameron, will appoint a Governor for America without the need for further elections.

Congress and the Senate will be disbanded. A questionnaire may be circulated next year to determine whether any of you noticed.

To aid in the transition to a British Crown dependency, the following rules are introduced with immediate effect:

1. The letter ‘U’ will be reinstated in words such as ‘colour,’ ‘favour,’ ‘labour’ and ‘neighbour.’ Likewise, you will learn to spell ‘doughnut’ without skipping half the letters, and the suffix ‘-ize’ will be replaced by the suffix ‘-ise.’ Generally, you will be expected to raise your vocabulary to acceptable levels. (look up ‘vocabulary’).

2. Using the same twenty-seven words interspersed with filler noises such as ”like’ and ‘you know’ is an unacceptable and inefficient form of communication. There is no such thing as U.S. English. We will let Microsoft know on your behalf. The Microsoft spell-checker will be adjusted to take into account the reinstated letter ‘u” and the elimination of ‘-ize.’

3. July 4th will no longer be celebrated as a holiday.

4. You will learn to resolve personal issues without using guns, lawyers, or therapists. The fact that you need so many lawyers and therapists shows that you’re not quite ready to be independent. Guns should only be used for shooting grouse. If you can’t sort things out without suing someone or speaking to a therapist, then you’re not ready to shoot grouse.

5. Therefore, you will no longer be allowed to own or carry anything more dangerous than a vegetable peeler. Although a permit will be required if you wish to carry a vegetable peeler in public.

6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour.

7. The former USA will adopt UK prices on petrol (which you have been calling gasoline) of roughly $10/US gallon. Get used to it.

8. You will learn to make real chips. Those things you call French fries are not real chips, and those things you insist on calling potato chips are properly called crisps. Real chips are thick cut, fried in animal fat, and dressed not with catsup but with vinegar.

9. The cold, tasteless stuff you insist on calling beer is not actually beer at all. Henceforth, only proper British Bitter will be referred to as beer, and European brews of known and accepted provenance will be referred to as Lager. South African beer is also acceptable, as they are pound for pound the greatest sporting nation on earth and it can only be due to the beer. They are also part of the British Commonwealth – see what it did for them. American brands will be referred to as Near-Frozen Gnat’s Urine, so that all can be sold without risk of further confusion.

10. Hollywood will be required occasionally to cast English actors as good guys. Hollywood will also be required to cast English actors to play English characters. Watching Andie Macdowell attempt English dialect in Four Weddings and a Funeral was an experience akin to having one’s ears removed with a cheese grater.

11. You will cease playing American football. There is only one kind of proper football; you call it soccer. Those of you brave enough will, in time, be allowed to play rugby (which has some similarities to American football, but does not involve stopping for a rest every twenty seconds or wearing full kevlar body armour like a bunch of nancies).

12. Further, you will stop playing baseball. It is not reasonable to host an event called the World Series for a game which is not played outside of America. Since only 2.1% of you are aware there is a world beyond your borders, your error is understandable. You will learn cricket, and we will let you face the South Africans first to take the sting out of their deliveries.

13.. You must tell us who killed JFK. It’s been driving us mad.

14. An internal revenue agent (i.e. tax collector) from Her Majesty’s Government will be with you shortly to ensure the acquisition of all monies due (backdated to 1776).

15. Daily Tea Time begins promptly at 4 p.m. with proper cups, with saucers, and never mugs, with high quality biscuits (cookies) and cakes; plus strawberries (with cream) when in season.

God Save the Queen!

JASMINE WITNESSES FISH DRAGGED STRAIGHT OUT OF THE OCEAN IN THE FISH MARKET IN INDIA.
This week I forked out £30 quid for a horrific 70’s outfit from a fancy dress store for a 70’s themed birthday party, attended Hackney Empire again for the comedy show Strictly Come Laughing, had a romantic dinner at the ROOF GDNS restaurant Babylon, took the London360 news reporters to SKY TV for a meet and greet session , had our regular MTV NEWS reunion, grabbed a quick cup of tea with rapper/activist JAJA

JASMINE BUYS SOME FRESH FRUIT AND VEG AT THE INDIAN MARKET-SMELLS AMAZING!
I also took my mum to India for 10 days for her birthday treat. It was crazy! I love countries where everything is alien to us. When exiting the airport in Mumbai every sense is assaulted simultaneously. The heat is like walking into an oven. The unrelenting noise and sound of the people and cars honking is a shock. The sheer volume of people, cars, motorbikes, colourful clothing, animals and extraordinary buildings is mesmerising. The smells of exotic flowers, spicy cooking, piles of sewage and religious incense are suffocating. It’s a real holiday in that so much is different to what is ‘normal’ to me here in the UK! I travel a lot and many American, European and African cities all resemble each other, but it’s really in parts of Asia that I truly feel I am experiencing something new.
So it was a little disappointing to discover that the capital of Bollywood-Mumbai- is vastly becoming the same city as everywhere else! I’ve been before, but this visit showed how fast the country is developing. I loved it more when it was quite un influenced by western corporate brands, but now there are name brands everywhere. Body shop, costa, Starbucks, KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hut and many more. I was stunned!

JASMINE OBSERVES INDIA’S VARIETY OF ROAD USERS IN PUNE!
On previous trips I’ve been used to seeing herds of ox, cattle, bull etc walking by in the roads. I’ve seen traffic stopped by the occasional elephant that’s decided to plonk itself in the middle of the road and all the traffic and people continue on around it without batting an eyelid. There was nothing quite that wondrous this time around-just the odd 4 legged straggler. Oh, aside from the fact that tailors out there charged 200 rupees to make a copy of any dress/blouse/piece of clothing I liked. That’s just over £2 what with 85 rupees making up a pound.

MCDONALDS LOCAL VERSIONS!
Then I popped to their McDonalds (which amusingly had a maharaja mac and MCspicy Paneer , MCspicy chicken as staple favourites), to find a fillet-o-fish cost more than the tailor charged to make a bespoke piece of clothing! Shocking! No wonder Primark prices are so cheap?! Surely India needs a better chart of fair pay?

ANYONE FANCY A GOATS HEAD FOR DINNER?
I did also travel to Pune. Originally known as Poona- where yoga enthusiasts from around the globe flock to retreats and schools. This was more rural feeling with its quaint old meat, fish, vegetable and fruit markets. I tried not to be a horrified, carnivore as I observed goats have their necks sliced open and huge piles of intestines pile up on the side.

A PILE OF INTESTINES WITH GOAT SKINS ALONGSIDE-NICE!

ANOTHER LIVE CHICKEN LOOKS CONCERNED AS ITS WEIGHED JUST BEFORE SLAUGHTER ”BUT I PROVIDED ALL THOSE EGGS FOR YOU…!”
I watched the sad looking chickens get weighed on a scale and have their necks wrung as they were picked to be a korma that night. I watched fishermen haul fresh, giant, still flapping fish into the fish market, I smelt amazing smells as I went shopping for fresh salad ingredients- their vast array of big, tasty fruit and veg tasted a lot better than ours.

CUSTARD APPLES! LOADS OF THEM! YUM!
My favourite fruit is a sitphal-known in the western world as a custard apple. Its green scaly crocodile skin and fleshy, juicy white fruit inside fascinate me! I’m also partial to a bright pink guava pear!

BRIGHT PINK DELICIOUS GUAVA PEARS!
We were there during the week of Diwali so regular sounds of bombs going off (I was reassured they were fireworks!), and festivity filled the air. Giant mountains of bright orange marigold flowers were dumped on the roadsides as workers sewed them together into garlands ready to adorn doorways, statues and people.

MARIGOLD FLOWERS PILE UP IN ANTICIPATION OF DIWALI

A FLOWER SELLER PAINSTAKINGLY SEWS FLOWERS TOGETHER TO MAKE DIWALI GARLANDS!
Whilst I was out there the Duchess of Cornwall – Camilla was also out there on a yoga retreat so the locals were all agog with Royal hype!
Also whilst out there Naomi Campbell threw a 50th birthday bash for her boyfriend Vladimir Doronin’s with no expense spared! The guests were flown in via 12 private jets and included Kate Moss, Demi Moore, Bob Geldof, Sarah Ferguson and Eva Herzigova. Diva Diana Ross performed for half a million and the only downer was the Mumbai based party planner being arrested for excessive noise as the fort where one of the 2 parties was held.
Recently loads of music stars have been out there to perform. They include J Lo and Akon and upcoming performers include Lady Gaga and David Guetta so it seems that celebrities are most definitely aware that India is a huge untapped gold mine that’s got mucho spending power!

On my return I was home straight off the plane and into the studio to film the LADIES TALK TV show for SKY 218. Straight after that it was off to the annual CDN Awards at the Hackney Empire, which this year saw us, win an award! Yeay! We were thrilled that Media Trust’s Breaking into News initiative enabled ITN and ITV News to win a prestigious Creative Diversity Network award, giving us great recognition (and positive praise from ITN/ITV) among a huge audience of media great & good, including Tim Davie (Acting BBC DG), our own trustee Sophie Turner Laing, and a few hundred others. BBC Acting Director General Tim Davie hosted the awards alongside Amanda Rice -Head of BBC Diversity. Davie praised the work of the broadcasters for their behind the scenes initiatives like the Hackney Weekend (Radio1) project and indie company Shine’s ‘The Hatch’ project which aims to give young marginalised people the opportunity to work on media production. Entertainment was provided by Shappi Khorsandi and Stephen K Amos. “I’ve been coming to similar events for years but this year it really feels like we’re winning on diversity,” said Channel 4 presenter Krishnan Guru Murthy presenter of the Factual Award. Best Diversity Initiative was won by- BBC Vision Intake Pool. Best Nations & Regions Programme WINNER was Making Bradford British (Love Productions for Channel 4). Coronation Street won the Radio Times Soap Award – voted for by the public. Best Factual Programme presented by Krishnan Guru Murthy was won by- Letting Go (October Films for BBC One) , and finally the 2012 Award for Outstanding Achievement presented by Tim Davie went to Channel 4’s Paralympics coverage which was more than well deserved!
It was a great evening full of positivity- even Lenny Henry’s presence didn’t irritate me as much as usual!. CDN Awards Creative Lead and BBC Diversity Manager, Chantal Badjie said: “we wanted this year’s awards to feel celebratory, entertaining and yet give a serious message. Based on the feedback from the audience and our partners across the CDN, it looks like we achieved that”

Finally hats off to the organisers of Strictly Come Laughing 4 at the Hackney Empire. This fantastic event showed the big-hearted side of comedy as all performers donated their time free of charge to raise money for the impoverished town of Kwahu Tafo in Ghana.
The sold out show was hosted by BBC London’s top broadcaster Eddie Nestor with film and TV star Robbie Gee and kicked off to a brilliant start by the up and coming and very funny Axel.
He was followed by a very risqué but funny set by Rudy Lickwood who suggested that one way to ensure young children were in their houses by 8pm would be to ‘’release all paedophiles onto the streets at this time!’’. Other comedians included one of my personal and crowd favourites Slim (who tells me he is planning another one man show sometime in 2013) Eddie Kadi and Kevin J who had the crowd in stitches with a short preview of their forthcoming show Ed’n’Kev, Stephen K Amos, Glenda Jaxson who had the men squirming with her stories about boring sex, Quincy, Mr Cee and the always funny, Tony Hendrix.

Remember the name, Jermaine Jackman, the 17-year-old Hackney singer (fresh from performing at the Apollo theatre in Harlem) received the nights only standing ovation and is set for big things.
We were also blessed with a heart-thumping, toe tapping treat from the cast members of award winning West End musical Stomp.
There was also a plethora of Celebrities doing their bit on the night including Britain’s answer to Denzel Washington the gorgeous Hugh Quarshie, also from Holby City Jimmy Akingbola who plays Malick and Chizzy Akudolu who plays Mo, star of Babyfather and Waking The Dead and about to become the 1st Black full time cast member of Emmerdale Wil Johnson and from EastEnders, Teachers, Casualty and so much more the gorgeous Ellen Thomas.

A great night full of belly laughs and we could all feel good about ourselves knowing every penny was going directly to help build a better life for the people of Kwahu Tafo Roll on Strictly 5(to find out more about where the money goes or to make donations www.friendsoftafo.org). Over £11,000 was raised on Sunday for Kwahu Tafo! now that’s people powered change!

JASMINE WITH FORMER DAMAGE LEAD VOCALLIST-COREE RICHARDS
It must be tough being a leading act that paves the way for others, who year’s later profit from the ground work you’ve put in. Over the years the debate in music about whether old skool acts can be recompensed at all for their graft laying the path for their future successors has raged on. DJ Kool Herc and his early hip-hop peers often end up poor, ill and destitute whilst their newer counterparts like Jay Z, Lil Wayne and 50 Cent are rolling in the cash.
Similarly UK acts like Omar, Eternal and many more a couple of decades ago fought the system for years only to have minimal household fame.
Today when I see JLS taking over the world I’m proud and happy for them. Their parallel act back in the day could’ve been a number of bands like MN8, Another Level, Ultimate Kaos and more, but the one at the forefront could be seen as Damage. With their hits ‘Wonderful Tonight’ and ‘Ghetto Romance’, the band worked hard in the nineties with minimal success, as the UK charts weren’t as urban-music-friendly as they are now.
This week I caught up with Damages former lead vocalist Coree Richards. His story is incredible, full of highs and lows, pain and pride.

Coree revealed that up until 10 years ago the band were still performing to pay their bills and nothing more-the pleasure had gone from their group relationship.
He had shared his feelings with the band about wanting to occasionally do solo songs as well as remain with the band, as he wanted to be more individual and do his own thing. Many acts at the time did the same; for example boy band Boyzones Ronan Keating, take that’s Robbie Williams, Blue’s Duncun, Another Levels Wayne Williams and more. Apparently the group were extremely unhappy about this and forced Coree to choose between a solo career or them. After a while of painful deliberating Coree chose a solo path.
Coree revealed pained ‘’ the guys all stopped speaking to me after that, my communication with the boys went to zero. I was so depressed I went to Thailand initially to party and to distance myself from everyone. The main objective was to go find myself. The last few months living out there i stayed at a Buddhist retreat. This helped me experience real life without being in a fake bubble. It was hard. I had so many initial fears “what will I do next’.
Coree felt like timing had been against him ‘’ I had turned down a lot of solo deal offers and lost opportunities whilst within the band and now that it had taken me so long to decide I had lost my momentum so I partied and wasted my time literally getting wasted-’ I do look back and wish my timing had been better’.

I myself recall this time. I recall the London music scene whispering about how Coree had lost his way and found solace in drugs and alcohol. Coree nodded ‘’I eventually found my love for music again. I taught local kids to sing at local schools in Harrow near where I live-I still teach them, it helps me give back to the community’’
A while after this Coree bought himself a mac computer and started to learn how to produce for himself but found that many of his peers had turned against him. ‘’Certain producers that used to work with the band that Damage had given their first breaks to were either not returning my calls or trying to charge me sums that were out of my range!’’.
Other industry brands were seemingly blackballing him too. He added ‘’Damage used to be the ChoiceFM babies but now DJ’s like Jenny Francis wouldn’t even get back to me!’’
(Damage member Andre’s dad Daddy Ernie was a ChoiceFM presenter at the time so things there were probably always going to be frosty)

Things were to get colder for Coree. He remembered the last time he saw his one time fellow band members ‘’there was a Ghetto Romance party arranged in Muswell Hill. A past Damage outer team staff member had invited me to come along and try and be cordial to the boys, I turned up and security wouldn’t let me in. Eventually I was inside and all the band was really throwing me negative vibes and screwfacing me. I had gone on a peaceful vibe but Andre (who seemed the worse for wear-maybe with alcohol was quite aggressive’’.
(I could relate very well to what Coree was revealing to me here. I myself had been on the ugly end of Andre’s ego when I was the head of production at MTV BASE a few years back. MTV BASE and CHOICEFM had a joint float at Notting Hill Carnival. On the Sunday we were happy for all to join the float, as we weren’t working. But on the Monday we had a full float of staff and music acts and the float was dangerously over health and safety regulation numbers. We were told only working staff could remain on the float. Andre had a major problem with this and months later at DJ Swings death anniversary party thought it appropriate to drunkenly scream at me and aggressively tell me why deserved to be on that float cos his dad was once a part of ChoiceFM (LOL) and he had thought we were family! I had attempted to explain that it wasn’t personal and that business had to come first. He didn’t get that then so Corees story didn’t surprise me at all. It was shocking mostly as once upon a time Andre had the reputation of being the most friendly and cordial of the group).

Coree continued ‘’it was Very hurtful. They turned their back on me. They were my brothers. I was in a very troubled space. They told me that I now was risky to the bands reputation as they often worked with disadvantaged young Kids and that my troubles would reflect badly on them. They didn’t see the irony of the fact that they were turning their backs on a close one time family member who needed them the most at this point in his life’’.
Coree feels there was added pressure due to band member Jades relationship with Spice Girl Emma Bunton. He feels that ‘’Andre and Damage hang onto Jade, and the domino affect from there continues’’.
Coree revealed the way that he learned that he had been chucked out of the reformed group was shocking and unprofessional ‘’The band wrote a letter to our fans in 2010 to tell fans they’d asked Coree to leave. This was not what Coree wants. This is for 4 of us not the total 5’’. They did all this without even having the decency and manners to first tell Coree. Impressive.
Coree shrugs his shoulders ‘’ its all good though, I’ve moved on. Though it would be good to hear them all do new music. I’ve had meetings with mutual mates who had blacklisted me. Promoters often think all 5 members are turning up at performances. Often their shows see posters that are promoted as a 5 piece act even though I’m no longer part of the band’.
Coree continued to set up his own production company ‘’Black Swan Entertainment’’ and is currently working with a few producers like the UK’s Smujji who had a hit with FYA called “Must be love”
Other people he’s working with include afrobeats style producer Af3ka (Antoine Stone).
On his new material he has attempted a few new styles but stayed close to bands style cos of course he was the original main vocalist. So inevitably much of his material sounds like classic Damage material, which the fans love.
He’s currently made around 60 tracks for his solo album ‘’Damaged but not broken’’. The tracks are mostly Up-tempo. ‘‘There’s often a Dance remix for the fans that are now on that vibe. I’ve moved with the times. I have Dubstep mixes. Some soulful. But I’ve really concentrated on the lyrical content, not loads of monotonous repetition but a telling of whole stories’’.
Coree revealed a couple of the hardest tracks to make were based on personal experiences . One tracks titled “A fathers word” for his 2-year-old son. He revealed that he’s been fighting to see son for the last 2 years.
Another track-the title track “Damaged but not broken”- is about being in the band, having success and then the fame leaving you in the shadows.
Coree has felt a deep pain from abandonment and loss of his one time band of brothers but he remains open, honest and positive about his experience ‘’ I’ve made great tracks so I know they’ll push themselves through. There are a few new acts I like Jessie J, Beverly Knight and Emile Sande-they stand out to me, but I don’t wanna jump on the bandwagon and collaborate with lots of new acts. I wanna steer clear of being like everyone else. I want to fly the flag for UK soul again. I’d love to write JLS a song. There’s so much autotune around these days I keep asking myself ‘where’s the R&B?’’ Acts like Chris brown and usher are all selling their souls with their style now. It’s so Hard to get on radio stations now. Djs can’t play what they want anymore with playlists being forced upon them. I’ve been lucky with Radio1Xtra supporting me with my single ‘’Body Talk’’ which will be released in the New Year –it’s a sexy song, just what you’d expect from me LOL. The videos coming soon too. I reached out to director Max from Max and Dania who used to work with us in the past but…yeah you guessed it-he wouldn’t return my call. I don’t like to bug anyone so I’m directing and editing it myself’’.
Corees can-do attitude will surely persevere. He agrees ‘’ Doing music and being great at it is my way of dealing with my struggles. my fans keep me motivated when they communicate with me on corree_damage. This is the great times. Being a father affects my music cos its more serious now. I know I Must make more of a business with it and I want to give back to the youth and help the new generation’’.
And with that Coree smiled like a man finally at peace with himself and his life and went off to prepare for his impending trip to perform out in Dubai!. follow coree at @COREE_DAMAGE.

Finally a big Congrats to my one time dance partner Jonzi D for being awarded a Children In Need award of funding of £63,000 for his brand Breakin’ Convention for Hip Hop Hospital, a project delivering a programme of hip hop related activity to children’s hospital wards across the country. The Hip Hop Hospital sees Breakin’ Convention Artistic Director Jonzi D and artists from the company’s education team visit children’s hospitals across the UK to bring interactive workshops in rap, music, dance and graffiti to hospital bedsides and social areas.
David Ramsden, Chief Executive of BBC Children in Need, said: “We are delighted to be supporting Breakin’ Convention, which is one of hundreds of projects we support that help children and young people across the UK. We can only do this due to the incredible generosity of our supporters and they should all be really proud.”
Hip Hop Hospital, which began in 2009 with an inaugural programme at Great Ormond Street, offers a combination of group work and one-to-one sessions with the industry leading artists Breakin’ Convention provides. Young patients learn many of the key skills involved in hip hop culture, from how to sketch graffiti and spray paint, to writing raps, recording tracks and making beats. They also learn elements of filming and photography, as well as discovering more about hip hop history
Each of the workshops are filmed and documented as a short film incorporating the children’s music and raps as soundtracks, their art work as visuals, and recording the interaction between the patients and the artists for the children to keep after the project.
Jonzi D, said: “Hip Hop Hospital brings young people engagement and excitement into an environment that is otherwise seen as an unpleasant place to be, particularly for long term patients.”
One week, 2 amazing men who have beaten the odds to a victorious finish.

JASMINE AND DELILAH
The striking singer Delilah invited me to see her perform at West London’s Shepherds Bush Empire. Her show Line up included acoustic vocalist Josh Kumra and the ever-elusive Wiley.

First onstage was Josh Kumra who is an act very in the vein of Ed Sheeran. His celebrity mate Mr Hudson came on with him to perform too. Josh is very good vocally and on guitar but maybe a bit shy, as we didn’t see much personality onstage. He could blow up with one big hit so he’s definitely a ‘’watch this space’’ kind of artist.

Wiley actually turned up-he’s getting good at this now. He bounced around onstage and did all his hit. He was rocking a very everyday casual jeans and zip up jacket outfit and true to form he had the crowd very hyped. I sometimes think he doesn’t look 100% comfortable in public. He needs to enjoy being onstage more as the crowd genuinely love him. At the end of his set there was an anti climax as he didn’t acknowledge and formally end his set with a thank you or anything, nevertheless the crowd adored him-especially since his track heat wave had recently been a number one. We love you Wiley-now love us back!

Then it was time for the main lady-Delilah!

DELILAH IN HER CROWD!
I was initially confused when I had heard others refer to her in person as ‘’Paloma’’? After questioning this I was informed that Paolma Faith had come out in public just before Delilah and so Delilah was forced to take another stage name 9her own real name is Paloma Ayana Stoecker)-how irritating must that be! So a few years down Delilah is here, it suits her and is inspired by her great grandma. I like Delilah’s story coming up in this music game. She’s had a real music artist’s path into the scene, which has prepared her for the rough road that many Brit school and x factor singers wont have a clue how to deal with. She’s sounds and looks unique. I like her image. Just check out her Wikipedia!.
Backstage before a show Delilah likes a quiet calm atmosphere with only her close team, hair and makeup. She doesn’t encourage friends hanging out and joking until after her show. She uses the time to get into her zone so that she can focus and do vocal exercises, which involve lots of screeching (a true singer!).
Delilah wore 1 outfit for the whole show. She didn’t need another-it was striking enough. Made by a designer called Tula who made her a bustier out of crystals to emphasise and highlight her glamazon figure. She rocked shoes by one of her favourite shoe designers Giuseppe Zanotti who loves her! (I need a special relationship with a shoe designer!)
In the crowd which was very diverse and mixed in age and race, were bloggers and the occasional star like wretch32.
A particular big moment that stood out was when Delilah did a cover of the Crystal Waters anthem ‘’Homeless’’ song. Surprisingly to me most of crowd knew it.

DELILAH DURING HER FINAL TRACK!
Delilah did her thing for a whole hour and even bought her sister Tabitha out onstage! (She of the ‘Tabitha mummy and me’’ song (who wouldn’t leave the stage after the gypsy woman song lol). Delilah shared the mic love though and also picked members of the audience out to sing onstage with her
At the end of the show when most of the crowd assumed the night was over, Delilah surprised them by turning up in the middle of the crowd and a lone strong spotlight switched on in the centre of the auditorium to see her sing her final number amongst her clearly very excited fans! Right at the end a shower of multi coloured glitter fell from the rooftop and covered her to everyone’s camera delight!
This lady’s one to watch as she sings strongly and writes her own music- signed to Atlantic records, she was nominated for best newcomer at this years MOBO’s in a very strong category and she was also just on Never mind the Buzzcocks so I can imagine that Jools Holland is just around the corner too! Afterwards we all went up to the bar for the after party, which was very intimate for the record label and family and friends.

JASMINE WITH HER FELLOW ”LADIES TALK” PANELLISTS ON SET!
Finally Twitter and Facebook was a buzz with the new TV ladies talk show- LADIES TALK on SKY 218. Its now 3 shows in and you love it!
On the panel are lead host ladies Angie Le Mar and Jacqui Joseph, joined by resident panellists Bonnie Greer, Jackie Michaels and myself. The first show saw us discuss sisterhood, Rihanna as a role model, are you too old to wear that? Jimmy Savile-gate, ambitious women, Camilla’s Indian yoga retreat and the top 10 excuses women make not to have sex! As if that wasn’t enough fun with the heated back and fort debates, we were joined by English actress Ellen Thomas who has had many television and film roles, but is perhaps best known for her recurring role in the Channel 4 Bristol-based comedy, Teachers or as Grace Olubunmi in EastEnders. Ellen looked ravishing in her cleavage-showing shirt and was an inspiring first guest o the show. This woman has been in practically every British hit show from Casualty to Doctor Who to Grange Hill, The Bill, Holby City and more. She revealed that she’s currently starring opposite Pierce Brosnan as his sexy secretary and starring in the new youth urban comedy film ‘’Its Alot’’.
Ladies talk discusses issues that affect us all, women and men of every age and culture and it’s a lot more connected than Loose Women. Its unapologetically saucy, serious, articulate and forward thinking. In the same way that Loose Women makes no justification for not having a resident woman of colour on the panel, we just happen to be a panel of ethnic women.
We are all part of history in the making in British TV. The format may have been done already, but what we bring is a new vibrant and coherent talk show that will change the face of talk TV in the UK, by showing them how it is done. For all of us exclusion is not an option, and we proved in the first 3 shows that making good innovative television is not solely for the chosen few. There is still a lot of work to be done. We are at the birth stage, so let’s keep the level of professionalism up and ensure that LADIES TALK becomes the most watched and talked about show on the daytime television network. It is important that we all play our part in spreading the word, it doesn’t matter how big or small your contribution is, they all matter. Join us in the audience every week by getting in touch with straighttoaudience@angielemar.com.
Watch us on SKY 218 at these times weekly-we’d love your feedback!
Friday: 12:15 weekly premier.
Friday: 17:30 pm-Repeat
Sat: 12:00-Repeat
Mon: 08:00 am -Repeat
Tue : 19:30-Repeat

JASMINE WITH AWARDS HOST-ACTOR HUGH QUARSHIE AT THE MVSA AWARDS
So this week I’ve amused myself in a variety of ways. First I had dinner with model Rachel Ritfeld at her new London home. You may know Rachel from having graced many a magazine cover; music videos or catwalk shows as well as starring in a past Channel4 show A place in the sun. Hailing from Surinam in South America to central London via Europe is how Rachel Ritfeld has come to prominence in the world of all things glamorous. She’s also a goodwill ambassador for Surinam in the UK and involved in a plethora of ventures, ranging from catwalk model and entrepreneur, to being the one time UK face of American hip-hop guru Damon Dash’s exclusive line of bling-bling Tiret watches. Now a mother and TV presenter for a new range of TV shows you will hear about soon, this tenacious woman cannot be stopped.

JASMINE WITH THE ACTOR RUDOLPH WALKER AT THE MVSA AWARDS
Then I took my mum to the Ritz for lunch for her birthday. I receive daily Bookatable e-mail voucher options so when the Ritz one popped up a while ago I knew it was time to take mummy there. I’ve attended a few times for afternoon tea but never lunch and I have to say the experience was amazing! They greeted her so well. The maitre d announced ‘’welcome Mrs Dotiwala- and many happy returns of the day!’’ She was so chuffed! Our £50 per head voucher was for 3 courses and 2 glasses of wine but we received at least double that and rose champagne. The waiters couldn’t have made us feel more comfortable and talked us through every dish and wine impeccably. The whole experience lasted nearly 3 hours! They even gave her a Ritz goodie bag with birthday cake to take home at the end. The Ritz brand certainly has a reputation for a good reason. It was exquisite! A wonderful experience that id recommend to everyone! (With a voucher LOL!)

JASMINE WITH MUSIC LEGEND OMAR AND ACLT’S ORIN LEWIS AT THE MVSA AWARDS
Next of course we had the annual MOBO Awards where TLC, Trey Songz and many TEAMUK acts did their thing.
But before all that I was lucky enough to be invited to the annual MUSIC, VIDEOAND SCREEN AWARDS in Birmingham.
As ever my Dolce & Gabbana team raced a ballgown across to me at the last minute! My saviours! Thank you guys!
It was my first time attending THE MVSA AWARDS and it was a really well put together evening. At the Birmingham International Convention Centre, the venue was heaving with men in black tie and ladies in beautiful long, classy gowns. The ballroom was full of candle lit dinner tables with silver service waiting staff. The pre dinner reception saw photographers bustling with power players and CapitalFM Birmingham were also in the house. A few Birmingham-ites strolled over to tell e how much they enjoyed reading this column and in particular a young man seemed genuinely excited to meet me gushing about his excitement. I only wished VOICE boss George Ruddock who was also in the house networking with his fellow power players were present in that moment. I was about to ask the young man to re-enact his excitement in a staged moment in front of George but was quickly ushered into the ballroom, as the show was about to begin.
The awards were Hosted by Holby City actor Hugh Quarshie (Dr Rick Griffiths) and Eastenders actress Tameka Epsom (Kim). I have always though Hugh is the most handsome, distinguished older man and has a certain Denzel Washington thing going on! He and Tameka were a very entertaining double act. Hugh was gracious and sharp and Tameka as ever brought the quick 1 liners and comedy to proceedings!
Everywhere you looked were movers and shakers from the acting and theatre world and the vibe in the room was classy and sophisticated. On my table were comedy house talent manager Sarah Moore, actress Sharon D Clark (Holby City), Rudolph Walker (Eastenders Patrick Trurman) his real life daughter Shoena and his old screen wife Angela Wynter who played Yolande Trueman. Patrick had ladies queuing up all night to take a photo with him. At one point all the ladies on our table and his daughter felt like we were his security as we had to fend off his female admirers- he was so accommodating to all and a gallant gent all night-what a great guy!

JASMINE WITH MICHELLE KELLY, KUSH FILMS MARLON PALMER, MUSICIAN DAVID PROSPER AND ANGIE LE MAR AT THE MVSA AWARDS
On an adjacent table were Eastenders actor Chuckie Venn, luxury goods designer Alexander Amosu, actress, comedian and talk show host Angie Le Mar with her hubby David Prosper. Also in the house were singer Omar looking very lithe and dapper in his tweed jacket, actor Jimmy Akingbola who was very loud and had the audience laughing all evening with his infectious personality, lovers rock singer Janet Kay who performed her classic ‘’Silly games’’ during which I screeched at the top of my tone deaf voice, the ACLT’S head man and lady Orin Lewis and Beverley de-gale, ITN newsreader Charlene White, Birmingham’s very own justice Williams MBE and many many more.

ITN’S CHARLENE WHITE ACCEPTING HER AWARD AT THE MVSA AWARDS
The show was kicked off by an amazingly energetic troupe of young fame style singer/dancers that did a long set in which they had us all singing and dancing alongside them. The show is special in that it engages and empowers youth to produce the whole event from stage-managing to scripting. It was great to see them take charge and lead the event with confidence.

JASMINE WITH ”HER” MSVA AWARD
At the start of the evening THE VOICE big boss George Ruddock had asked me to present the award for best theatre production. He had done it himself for the past 3 years and decided to let me have a go. So I being a professional lass decided to hold off from drinking not a sip of alcohol until after I’d presented my award so the glasses of champagne and wine were lined up around my dinner plate awaiting me to finish onstage. Just before my moment however a stage manager informed me that George was going to be presenting the award solo so I could relax. Great I thought relaxing as instructed and knocked back 3 glasses of my awaiting plonk. 10 minutes later the stage manager returns to my table and whispers her apologies and informs me that I will indeed be needed to present the award alongside George. Whoops! My thighs were already feeling alcohol heavy and my vocal chords were slurring in a party of their own. Oh well I thought, do your professional best. It was okay in the end and as far as I know no one noticed my swaying state as I presenter the winning award to Julius Ceasar .
All the awards were interspersed with entertainment in the form of music, comedy and more. A young lady that performed a Whitney Houston tribute particularly stood out. She was beautiful and her vocals really did remind us of Whitney-she was strong and powerful-a great tribute! The night culminated with an after party at the very impressive top floor 360 degree glass rooftop Marco Pierre white restaurant on the top floor of the indigo hotel in the cube. Actor will Johnson DJ’ed and the drinks flowed until the early hours. Kush films founder Marlon Palmer had us all entertained with his banter and I stole Curtis Walkers comedy award so I could pose with it all night. A great awards ceremony that was on a par with the best of them- definitely the best screen awards I have attended. Very professional- great job by founder Dean Alexander.

JASMINE WITH CAMEO AFTER THEIR SHOW, AT THE LEGENDARY JAZZ CAFE IN CAMDEN.
My uncle Johnny is a top money honcho at eon productions that make all the James Bond movies. Over the years I hear his amazing stories and anecdotes about the heads of the company-the legendary Albert ‘’Cubby’’ Broccoli and his daughter Barbara broccoli. The making of the James Bond films always sounds so exiting, romantic, top secret and the end product is always worth it. So when uncle Johnny offered me tickets to the cast and crew screening in Leicester square early one Saturday morning a week before the film was out in the public realm, I did of course jump at the chance. I
As expected, it was amazing! Adele kicks it off with the amazing theme song, which is true divalicious belting out of a ballad in typical bond style. Ca-ching goes her and her record labels already bulging weighed down pockets!
The opening scenes are always legendary aren’t they? I recall my last favourite opening scene was in Casino Royale film when they had parkour free running showcased. This time around the film opens with motorbike stunt riding highlighted and is breath taking! From the moment it starts it sucks you in for 2 and a half whole hours and you are gripped by the action and narrative, which this time around shows the evolving of the characters in the future. The ever-present ‘’Quarterman’’/ gadget man Q is a new nerdy very young teen looking boy who has years of acting left in him. Can you imagine his contract and the retainer this young actor must be on>? He really struck lucky. Similarly the film producers had to safe guard their infamous lady boss character M played by Judi Dench. They deal with the character so that M lives on. I wont spoil it for you in case you’ve not seen it yet –but Skyfall fall doesn’t disappoint. There are the regular product placement branded scenes focusing on Aston Martin, Omega watches, Adidas sneakers, and mobile phones but all done in the best possible taste.
Watching so much action shot in the streets of London with our buildings and tube trains excited me no end-I’m a proud Londoner and seeing it portrayed in movies like this makes me see that we can easily stand strong and equal against big bucks cities like new york on the world movie stage.
The 2 main young lead actress roles were cast to women of colour- a black woman-Naomi Harris and an Asian woman- Berenice Marlohe. That’s a huge deal in this day and age! My only gripe was I felt the females didn’t have as much sexy time and glamorous looks as in the past. I imagine the producers tried to keep with the diplomat themes of the current austerity themes. Oh well, I guess even Bond has to tighten his belt sometimes and get all A Team in the ‘’make your own weapons’’ moments! lol

Then all roads led for a whole week to Camden’s legendary Jazz Café for the much-awaited Cameo shows. I realised I’d been attending shows there now for 20 years and nothings changed in there. Same stage, same bar, same food on the menu. But it’s good and works.
Cameo were on fire! All their shows were sold out and nothing disappointed. Lead man known worldwide for his bright red cod piece- Larry Blackmon and the main vocalist Tomi were as strong as they ever were. The whole band was tight, sounded well rehearsed (the drummers solo wa impressive as hell!) and exactly as they did on record of not stronger. The members all dressed up in an array of crazy masks and capes as brilliant as Gene Simmons and Kiss costumes, and of course we all cheered when Larry took his place onstage with leather trousers and codpiece. All the press had been warned earlier to refer to him only as ‘’Mister Blackmon’’. Oh how I laughed! A male diva in an ocean of females. Hilarious! Also- as mister Blackmon walked past my dinner table, my industry pals and I gawped as we took in the size of his quite rotund, protruding butt. Honesty-it’s the biggest, juiciest ass on a male I’ve ever seen!
Mister Blackmon seemed a lot more serious than you’d imagine and warned his fans in the audience that they had better ‘’Buy Cameo’s next release, don’t download it for free or live music will cease to exist!’’. His rapping was as sick as ever. I realized he had been rapping with a charismatic flow hotter than most rappers had even been born!
He did make me laugh as he sternly informed the crowd ‘’A lot of people come up here and talk shit but I wanna tell u I really love you!’’.
The band performed all the classics like ‘’single life’’ and ‘’she’s strange’’ and ‘’candy’’. Candy was an eye opener as I imagined the whole crowd would be rocking and performing the now associated candy dance to it. But they didn’t. We then realized that the demographic in the show were older than the current clubbing generation and these oldies probably didn’t realize that the electric slide was now the ‘’candy dance’’. Halfway through the song mister Blackmon asked ‘’what happened to the electric slide?’’ Quick as a flash, determined not to let the teamuk side down, myself and my peps including BBCs Jay Davidson and Adidas boss Paola Lucktung sprinted down the stairs to the ground floor, pushed and weaved our way to the front of the crowd and led the dance troupe. It wasn’t the best exhibition of London showing what it’s got but was certainly an eye opener of how unconnected the oldies can become so fast!
All was okay with the crowd though when the Cameo classic “Hanging downtown” reminded the oldies of their 2-step favourite. They all danced in unison reminiscing about Sunday early morning scrubbing up in a party in their youth (and I don’t mean washing plates after food!).
Overall it was refreshing that the whole band took on lead on vocals and speaking throughout the show and of course when my fave ‘’ Word up’’ started, I literally sang at the top of my lungs and bounded around the top floor balcony bumping people like a monkey!. Come back again cameo- the people need more nights like this!