Jamal Edwards inspires Kingston students

Music mogul Jamal Edwards spoke to KU students about the fame and experience that led him to be worth £6m.

Anna Stayduhar

Kingston University welcomed SB.TV founder and music mogul Jamal Edwards as a guest speaker to share stories of his fame and entrepreneurship experiences on March 21.

The event, filmed at Penrhyn Road campus, was hosted by Dwain Reid, the Entrepreneur Project Officer for student graduates.

“You don’t need money”

Aged 22, Mr Edwards is worth £6m according to the Sunday Times Rich List and is friends with Sir Richard Branson. Six years on, his YouTube channel has generated over 87 million views and 150,000 subscribers, featuring artists like Justin Bieber, Ellie Goulding, Nicki Minaj and Bruno Mars. 

Mr Edwards discussed his journey from filming foxes on his own personal camera to becoming the face of Google Chrome and building the SB.TV brand, saying: “You don’t need money, I started SB.TV off the back of my passion. If you find your niche you can do anything. I worked at Topman to afford tapes and other equipment, doing everything myself.”

Mr Edwards is also known as the face of an advert for Google Chrome that ran in 2011, featuring his mother and The X Factor series two contestant Brenda Edwards. He was hailed by Q Magazine as one of the most influential people in music in March 2012, describing him as the new Simon Cowell. 

“I haven’t sold my soul”

Mr Edwards plans to travel to cities in the United States to showcase a new series, and when asked about plans for what he would like to see on SB.TV, he replied: “Jay-Z and Beyoncé.” He went on to say how he personally chooses the artists he feels are interesting to feature on his YouTube channel without the influence of any promotional companies. 

He said: “I haven’t sold my soul. Everything I put on is what I want to see. As I am launching a new series I am not going to feature people for the sake of a buzz.” 

Inspired students

Students in the audience had the opportunity to ask their questions whilst also being able to chat one-on-one with the popular star. 

“He is really famous in urban culture but now he has gone mainstream. It was great to see him and hear all about his success and rise to fame through SB.TV. It is inspiring,” said Khathu Mikosi, 22, a third year sustainable development student. 

The next guest speaker for the Entrepreneurship Experience on April 18 will feature a star from the TV series Dragon’s Den.