@tashphotography
(Picture: Natasha Pszenicki)The sun is starting to disappear behind the rooftops of this cobbled back yard as I find myself entering a recording studio in north-west London one Sunday evening. Greeted with a friendly hug, I’m finally meeting Jasmine Dale, the inspiring woman behind Hearts of Talent, a growing contest taking on some of London’s biggest community issues. She’s invited me to Cricklewood to observe her mentoring some of this year’s semi-finalists: Molly, 13, Derrick, 20, Nicole, 19, George, 20, and Adina, 25. We all take a seat. One by one, each artist stands to share their personal story – from being victims of knife crime, and seeing music as a way to escape gang violence. Then, with help from her daughter Amoy (who speaks with confidence about her own experience in the music industry), Jasmine plays a range of backing tracks from Mozart to TLC for the contestants to perform to. We watch each ‘HOT’ semi-finalist impressively adjust their vocals and rhythm to suit each instrumental. It was a struggle leaving my two young children with my mum in Hackney to get here tonight, but I’m so glad I came.
