‘It was a mess. I had to do something’: the personal struggle that inspired rap star Giggs to start a special needs school

A remarkable venture … Giggs pictured at St James House, the new Send school he has co-founded in Kent. Photograph: Peter Flude/the Guardian

It has been a busy few weeks for the London rapper Giggs. Two weeks ago, he was in New Jersey with his fiancee Valerie as she gave birth to the couple’s daughter, Noa. The next day, he flew home and went straight to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to guest on stage with Jay-Z. “Yeah, it’s been crazy,” he smiles.

Remarkably, as soon as Noa was delivered, he also found time to livestream from the US hospital to the launch event for his latest project: not an album, but a specialist school and assessment centre for neurodivergent children.