British music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards, whose platform helped launch Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, dead at 31

Jamal Edwards, who changed the British rap and grime industry with his YouTube page, died Sunday after a “sudden illness” at age 31.

“Myself, his sister Tanisha and the rest of his family and friends are completely devastated,” his mother, “Loose Women” panelist Brenda Edwards, said in a statement. “He was the center of our world.”

Raised in west London, Edwards launched his YouTube channel, SBTV (SmokeyBarz TV), named after a pseudonym he sometimes used for his own musical endeavors, in 2006. Today, the channel has more than 1.2 billion subscribers and has helped bring attention to artists like Ed Sheeran, Stormzy, Skepta, Jessie J and rapper Dave.