Jamal Edwards: Fans mourn music pioneer at Acton vigil

Fans and friends of music pioneer Jamal Edwards gathered at a vigil in west London on Monday evening to pay tribute to the 31-year-old, who died on Sunday.

Edwards was the founder of SBTV, an online grime and rap platform that helped launch the careers of artists like Dave, Skepta and Ed Sheeran.

"He was the hero of Acton," Zachary Thomas told the BBC at the event.

"He was the guy who showed you could make it out without... getting involved in crime or anything."

Edwards started filming local MCs after his parents gave him a video camera as a Christmas present when he was 15.

That led him to start SBTV, which became a launchpad for some of the biggest names in British music.

One friend at the vigil, Dominic Magliore, told the BBC: "It's hard to accept it. I heard about it yesterday and I saw him on Friday. We was hugging, laughing and having a good time and everything seemed OK."

The mourners paid their respects on Acton High Street in front of a mural of Edwards, which was commissioned in 2019.

Sam Borelli said: "Jamal was the guy that showed kids from low-income households that you are not limited to what your grades might tell you. He made the musicians that made me, if you know what I mean, with a camera he got for Christmas."

Edwards' company confirmed his death to the BBC on Sunday, saying he had died that morning. No cause of death has been given.

His mother Brenda Edwards, a singer and panellist on ITV show Loose Women, said he "passed away after a sudden illness". She said she was "completely devastated".

Prince Charles and rappers Dave and AJ Tracey were among many others to pay tribute.

The Prince of Wales paid tribute to his work for The Prince's Trust. Dave simply wrote: "Thank you for everything. Words can't explain." Tracey said Edwards was a "legend".

Actor Idris Elba tweeted that he would "be missed", while businessman Sir Richard Branson, who wrote the foreword for Edwards' 2013 book Self Belief: The Vision, tweeted that the star was "a truly extraordinary young man who made a huge difference to so many people's lives".

BBC 1Xtra DJ and presenter Nadia Jae told Newsbeat that Edwards "helped so many people, put them in places that they never would have been and did a lot of the pushing of doors to make sure that our industry is as fruitful as it is now".

She added: "He had a heart of gold, I don't know anyone who has a bad word to say about Jamal. He broke so many barriers, I don't know if we're ever going to get another Jamal."

As well as his work with the Prince's Trust, Edwards also founded JE Delve, a grassroots charity providing youth clubs, learning and work opportunities for young people in west London, where he grew up after his family moved there from Luton.

He worked with a string of other youth charities and regularly made visits to speak to teenagers, including at Acton High School and West London College, where he studied, to answer questions on business success and self-motivation.

Ealing MP Rupa Huq shared a selection of photos of Edwards on social media as she paid tribute to the "local hero".