Jamal Edwards was just 15-years-old when he started his multi-million pound business - and admitted he wouldn't have made it without his beloved mum.
Brenda Edwards, who is speaking in an interview on today's Loose Women for the first time about her son's tragic death from a sudden illness at the age of 31, made a massive sacrifice just to keep a roof over his head.
A self-made millionaire who grew up on a west London council estate, Jamal quickly rose up to become an entrepreneur, author, director and DJ but was always kept grounded by his loving mum.
Jamal joked that the pair have frequently switched places in terms of their fame, having started as "Brenda from X Factor's son" before she became "Jamal from SB.TV's mum" and then back to "Brenda from Loose Women's son".
While Brenda is all over our screens now, having shot to fame on The X Factor in 2005, it was a very different story when Jamal and his younger sister were growing up.
Tragically, Brenda lost both her parents in a car crash in 1974 when she was just four-years-old and her grandmother died suddenly from a stroke a few months before she discovered she was pregnant with Jamal.
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As a single mother, Brenda was forced to abandon all hope of forging her singing career and focused on building a life for her son.
She returned to the accounts department of the company where she worked and three years later had a daughter, Tanisha, whose father was also not in the picture.
Brenda struggled on just £500 a month and after paying for a childminder was left with £150 to pay for food, clothes and utilities.
Speaking on Loose Women in 2020, Brenda heartbreakingly revealed she would sit in the dark with no electricity and cry.
"I did hide everything financial from my kids," explained Brenda. "And my family in general, I didn't want them to know I was struggling.
"It was very hard I was a single mum with two kids and I wanted to work and I found I was working to live. I was paid £500 a month, £350 of that was going on a child minder and so you've got £150 for food and school clothes for your utilities, for rent.
"There was a time I just ran out of money, I had an electricity meter and it goes into emergency credit , I didn't have any money and I was just sitting there crying in the dark because I had no money.
"[I was] thinking how am I going to get out of this? What am I going to do? You want to do your bit for society, but I didn't feel I had the help and support back I had to be raising my children."
Her kids would often eat the same meal two or three times a week and she was mocked for asking to take home an old sofa that they were chucking out from work.
The estate where they lived was not an easy place to raise kids as Brenda explained there was a lot of gun and knife crime in the area.
Brenda made sure that her son stuck on the right path and marched him to a branch of Topman when he was 17 to demand they give him a job.
Speaking to The Mail in 2020, Jamal confessed: "It was so embarrassing. They were saying, 'We don’t have any jobs going,' but she wouldn’t take no for an answer.
"She said, 'I don’t care, he’ll work for free, you have to take him on.' And they agreed, probably because they wanted to get rid of her."
When Jamal was 15, Brenda bought him a £200 video camera for his Christmas present and he started filming his friends performing grime music and uploading the clips to YouTube.
Under his own rap moniker Smokey Barz, Jamal set up his SB.TV channel but it was not an overnight success.
He would find himself hanging around the BBC studios in a bid to get interviews and would also sneak into raves and take the time to message record labels to plead for interview time with their stars.
When asked what drove him to be a success on Loose Women last year, Jamal said: "A lot of my friends weren't being represented in mainstream media, so I think that's what inspired me.
"But obviously my mum's work ethic inspired me. I remember going to pub when she was doing karaoke and doing my homework there. She was always working very hard."
Through hard work and determination, Jamal's YouTube channel flourished and he helped launch the careers of big names such as Ed Sheeran, Dave and Jessie J.
Thanks to his impressive achievements, Jamal was appointed an MBE for services to music in 2014 and was also an ambassador for the Prince's Trust, a youth charity run by the Prince of Wales which helps young people set up their own companies.
Brenda's Loose Women co-stars revealed that she had often spoken about feeling "working mum guilt" while her kids were growing up, but Jamal hit back at the suggestion.
"I don't think you need to feel guilty. If anything it's rubbed off on me. I think we balance," explained Jamal.
"At school I remember I was Brenda from X Factor's son. And then it went from Jamal at SB.TV's mum to Brenda from Loose Women's son. It's friendly competition.
"All my mates know I work extremely hard and I get it from my mum. So there's no need to feel guilty about it."
The tragic news of Jamal's death was confirmed on Sunday night - with mum Brenda giving a heartfelt statement for Susanna Reid to read on Monday's edition of Good Morning Britain.
Brenda heartbreakingly explained Jamal's cause of death had been a 'sudden illness' as she described him as the "centre of his world".
"It is with the deepest heartache that I confirm that my beautiful son Jamal Edwards passed away yesterday morning after a sudden illness. Myself, his sister Tanish and the rest of his family and friends are completely devastated. He was the centre of our world," said Brenda.
"As we come to terms with his passing, we ask for privacy to grieve this unimaginable loss. I would like to thank everyone for their messages of love and support.
"Jamal was an inspiration to myself and so many. Our love for him lives on, his legacy lives on. Long live Jamal Edwards MBE, MBA, PHD."
The tributes flooding in for Jamal prove just how many lives he touched - with stars from the TV and music worlds expressing their sadness.
Devastated singer Rita Ora explained how her first interview had been with Jamal, while rapper AJ Tracey said he had "west London legend status".
The Loose Women stars have been rallying to support Brenda, a much-loved panelist on the show, by sending out messages of support.
Charlene White said Jamal's "light shone brightly", Denise Welch revealed her heart was aching for Brenda and Judi Love spoke about how he changed lives.
There were also kind messages of support from loose ladies Ruth Langsford, Saira Khan and Christine Lampard.
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