A clip from an oral history we recorded with my friend DJ B3 as part of our Bedroom Shut Music Up exhibition. He paints a vivid picture of the pirate radio frontlines—where love for the music was so strong, people climbed rooftops in the middle of the night to keep the signal alive...

I looked natty dreads deep in the eyes when his hands were drumming, I can tell you he wasn't there, his mind travelled, taken over by the drums, probably ancestors using his body as a vehicle to tell their tales of old. I have no idea what he was saying, but the words spoke deep to the soul.  

Rage told me though he was involved in various serious street activities during the early 2000’s he had also been introduced to books on people like Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X and real knowledge of self type books. He said he felt conflicted. His consciousness was growing, and he wanted to tell his friends to aim higher, to live better.

some have been behind bars for so long they now call prison a “second home.” Some might call that foolish. I think it’s more complicated. Many are highly intelligent — articulate enough to talk you out of your lunch money and your five-summer savings. Yet still, they spend more summers behind bars than bartenders slinging two-for-one Pimm’s and lemonade in pub gardens.

Rappers laughed out of parks...

I paused the words of good morning heartache and reflected. Because nearly a century later, the script hasn’t changed just different actors

Are lyrics from a cell now lyrics of the world? The tales and slang from behind bars, played through the speakers of London driven cars and beyond, though to what effect… 

In this stripped-back version of “I Was”, Rage reflects on his experiences growing up in Waltham Forest — memories shaped by the sounds, struggles, and spirit of the early 2000s. It’s raw, reflective, and rooted in lived truth.

I’ve been having some deep conversations with people from all walks of life while piecing together the story of Waltham Forest in the...

Introduction To Red Light Busking presents Kanda Vol.1 Bedroom Shut Music Up

Contact Red Light Busking on WhatsApp 07401780335 Being an 80’s baby and growing up in a Caribbean home meant, that often we were exposed...