In 2002, a year eight student managed to blag a laptop from his parents in order to help him with his homework. The computer came pre-loaded with rudimentary music software and the young boy was enthralled. He began taking the laptop to youth clubs in east London where he learned how to produce instrumentals, record vocals and connect with likeminded kids from across the city. That boy would come to be known as producer Prince Rapid and, alongside fellow Ruff Sqwad members Dirty Danger, Slix Fleeingham, Tinchy Stryder and Shifty Rydos, that laptop did more than just type up homework, it facilitated one of the most important developments in British music to date: the birth of grime music.
“Ruff Sqwad was born in youth clubs,” Slix tells Dazed, explaining that the nascent grime group attended the same music outreach sessions as genre pioneers Dizzee Rascal, D Double E, Wiley and more. “Growing up in a low-income community, violence and poverty were a part of life. [That] youth club helped give us order, it gave us something to gain and lose. If we messed around they’d be like, ‘Alright, you can’t have the decks next week.’ It taught us about merit and working to earn something.”
Over 20 years later, Ruff Sqwad’s story seems more relevant than ever. Last month, two weeks before Netflix series Adolescence warned of a leadership crisis in today’s youth, both singer-songwriter Myles Smith and jazz quintet Ezra Collective dedicated their BRIT award acceptance speeches to the power of youth clubs and music outreach. “This moment right here is because of the great youth clubs, teachers and schools that support young people making music,” said Ezra Collective drummer Femi Koleoso as he accepted the award for Group of the Year. “So many of the problems that face greater society in the UK… the solution lies with giving a young person a trumpet. When you do that you give a young person a dream, aspiration and a goal.”
Where Adolescence highlighted a problem, artists like Koleoso have long recognised the solution – youth work has not only given rise to some of Britain’s biggest cultural exports in the 21st century, but they also provide role models and safe spaces for vulnerable and at-risk youth. Given that council funding for youth clubs has fallen by over one billion pounds since 2010 (equivalent to a 73 per cent decrease), it seems imperative that the British government show as much support for these solutions as it already has shown to Adolescence.
Below, from Rizzle Kicks co-founder Jordan Stephens to formative grime MC and Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation co-founder Slix Fleeingham, Dazed speaks to four artists and youth mentors on the importance of youth work in shaping British music.
Jordan Stephens is a writer and performer best known as one half of hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks. As a teenager, he attended Brighton-based music non-profit AudioActive.
Jordan Stephens: “I owe so much of my career to youth clubs. I met one of my first mentors while ordering a veggie burger in the Laines in Brighton. He was doing a crossword and asked me if I liked rapping. I said, ‘Yeah.’ He invited me to Brighton Youth Centre and gave me my first ever beat CD. A whole CD full of instrumentals that he’d made. I instantly began writing. His name is Tom Hines and we’re still in touch now. I’m also a patron of AudioActive who are Youth Music funded.
For me, having a space to be creative without pressure, meet new people and focus my energy was invaluable. I don’t believe it’s a coincidence that we have a growing level of hysteria about young people after over a decade of closures and lack of funding going into the creative sector. If the government was serious about protecting our youth, their utmost priority would be empowering the youth workers in our community. I really believe that it takes a village to raise a child.”
Slix Fleeingham is a foundational member of pioneering east London grime crew Ruff Sqwad. He has since gone on to co-found music charity Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation, reinvesting in the local community through workshops, training and media production.
Slix Fleeingham: “Ruff Sqwad was born in a youth club, we went to the same one as Dizzee Rascal and the late Stormin MC (Nasty Crew). Occasionally, Wiley and D Double E would visit along with members of the Nasty Crew. Without [that space], I don’t know what would have happened. [It provided] three main things: space, support in the form of youth workers and people from the community that related to us, and the creative resources such as microphones, decks, mixers and speakers.
The art sector is one of Britain’s major exports. Over the past two decades there have been many people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds that have earned success and youth work has been part of their journey. It’s the spine for a lot of these new genres and artists.
Our [Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation charity] offers an outlet as well as paid employment opportunities for young people. A lot of people focus on violence but, without sounding too cynical, I think many people in positions of power aren’t bothered about these problems because their children are not affected by violence or unemployment. Their children probably have access to infrastructure and support so there’s a huge disparity.”
Bobbie Johnson is a Brighton-based rapper, producer and youth mentor who delivers one-to-one sessions with young people with music non-profit AudioActive.
Bobbie Johnson: “Youth work offers a support network and trusted adult outside of the family home, [something] that the young person potentially might not have at all. Without the work that AudioActive and other organisations are doing, then all the changes we want to see surrounding youth violence won’t be possible. We need to actively engage with youngers in our communities in a positive way, not just police them.
Allowing young people to express themselves and have their voices heard is part of this change and music is a great tool to enable that to happen. Sometimes even just holding a space for a young person for a couple hours a week and listening to music and chatting about things is enough.
Simply put, the government isn’t doing enough to support these initiatives. With the rise in youth violence, it’s obvious to see that not enough funding is going into preventative work like AudioActive. To me, it seems like madness to only deal with the problem once it’s happened. Once someone’s lost their life, once a family has lost a child and once a community has been shaken by violence. We need more youth projects in our society to help break the chain of violence at an earlier stage and more positive role models to help guide the future of our communities.”
Justin Finlayson is the founder of the Youth Endowment Fund-supported music charity United Borders, which delivers music sessions and outreach services to at-risk youth by way of a double-decker bus travelling across London.
Justin Finlayson: “I am a child of the 80s where state-sanctioned playcenters and mobile bus libraries used to frequent each community in order to encourage reading. I’m extremely fortunate enough to extend that to children and young people who have grown up with record numbers of youth centres being shut down since 2010 due to austerity.
Our bus operates like those library buses of the 80s that I used to frequent, creating a space for children and young people to feel safe. It helps them to create music in a studio setting with established producers, record and upload podcasts or chill and play PS5 with mentors and their close friends.
Originally, our launch was between two areas which had experienced years of serious youth violence. Our bus was able to support each area separately, while successfully working with both sets of young people who wouldn’t cooperate with each other positively. We would create music with one set of young people and give those beats to the other to rap on and vice versa, gradually introducing the idea that they were creating music for one another. Eventually, they trusted us enough to arrange a meeting. It was very tense but turned out to be a powerful moment – they recorded music together for the entire day! This made me realise how music, mobility and mentoring could support better relationships.”
