Ed Sheeran has released an emotional tribute to entrepreneur Jamal Edwards. The singer-songwriter released the track through the late entrepreneur's platform SBTV.
DJ and music entrepreneur Edwards, who was made an MBE for his services to music in 2014, died on February 20 last year at the age of 31. The return of SBTV series F64 saw Sheeran kick off with a 64-bar freestyle tribute to Edwards, who died from cardiac arrhythmia caused by having taken recreational drugs, a coroner previously ruled at an inquest opening.
The music video opens with a shaky camera pointing at 31-year-old Sheeran, who is lit up by two spotlights and standing in a circle of candles. Wearing a blue jumper and jeans, Sheeran begins to rap: “Yo Jam, this is a letter to you, it’s been a while but it’s been hard for me to get in the booth.
“Since we last spoke I’ve become a father-of-two trying to live life with a smile but that’s been harder to do. Because all I want to do is talk about you, but these tears won’t let me talk about you. We should have known that we’d be lost without you.”
Following these lyrics, the video lights up to show Jamal’s name spelt out on the seats of Stamford Bridge stadium, home of Chelsea FC, of whom Edwards was a lifelong fan. In the emotional song, Sheeran raps about going to eat “jerk wings and plantain” as that is how the pair used to celebrate and seemingly references Edwards’ drug use.
He sang: “I never knew you touched the stuff because you’d always bad me up, if you saw me more than drunk you always hated what it does.” He later added: “I wish I’d known.”
Sheeran also referenced spending more than a week at Loose Women panellist Brenda Edwards’ home following news of her son’s death. “We cried for nine nights at your family home….Was at your mum’s there all week trying to make sense but I can’t, and although it’s been a year still feel pain in my heart,” he sang.
Other lyrics included Sheeran wishing that Edwards would have known that he was going to be godfather to his second daughter Jupiter, adding: “If not for them I’d be done with the world.” He concluded: “I can’t accept that you’re gone or the grief that I’m feeling…I think about you every day nothing will take this pain away.”
Edwards gained fame after setting up the music platform SBTV in 2006 and was credited with helping to launch a string of UK music acts to stardom, including Sheeran, Dave and Jessie J.
