Jammin for Inclusion: Benefit Concert for Communities Empowerment Network
Ms Dynamite, Bashy, Linton Kwesi-Johnson and Maroon Town come together at Brixton’s ‘Jamm’ on March 25th to celebrate and raise funds for the work of Communities Empowerment Network (CEN), a London based charity.
CEN has spent the last 10 years reintegrating excluded pupils back into mainstream education. CEN deals with an average of 500 exclusion cases a year and has a virtually 100% success in reintegration.
In 2001, Martin Narey, then Director of the Prison Service, stated that ‘the 13,000 children being excluded from school each year might as well be given a ticket to join the prison system somewhere down the line’. In just about every urban area in Britain, young black people are disproportionately represented in the prison system relative to their numbers in the local population.
Ms Dynamite, Bashy and Linton Kwesi-Johnson have put their name to this event because they want to highlight the success of CEN in getting permanently excluded pupils back into mainstream, full-time education as well as acknowledge the immense potential that exists in today’s youth by being on hand to meet and chat to young people.
Ms Dynamite: R&B and hip song singer-rapper, Mercury Music Prize, double Brit Award and three times MOBO Awards winner. Currently back in business with a new track ‘Bad Gyal’ 2009 is setting up to see a lot more of one of the UK’s finest
Ashley Thomas AKA BASHY is the hottest artists to emerge in a brand new wave of fresh and exciting British UK musical talent. With over I million hits on youtube for both tracks released independantly in 2008, an appearance at last years Glastonbury, 2009 promises to be a huge year for this outstanding talent with the release of his first album ‘Catch Me If You Can’
Linton Kwesi-Johnson: is known and revered as the world’s first reggae poet and has recorded several classic reggae albums. He recently became only the second living poet and the first Black poet to have his work published in Penguin’s Modern Classics series under the title ‘Mi Revalueshanary Fren’
Maroon Town: 9 piece globe trotting ska barnstormers who amongst normal band activities also play in high security prisons from Jamaica to Kazakhstan. In May they are off to Tajikisan to perform and collaborate with local artists.
DJ Gerry Lyseight co-founded Brixton’s mythical Mambo Inn; DJed around the world; at festivals such as Glastonbury, Womad and The Big Chill; with everyone from Tito Puente to King Sunny Ade; compiled many albums; hosted radio programmes featuring everyone from Charlie Watts to Rufus Wainwright to Mr. Scruff to Bebel Gilberto to the late Kirsty MacColl.
Some of the young people CEN has supported and reintegrated back into full time education will also perform.
The evening’s compere will be Eugene Skeef composer, poet, percussionist and workshop leader.
Event: ‘Jammin for Inclusion’
Date: Wednesday 25th March 2009
Time: 7 till late
Venue: Jamm, 261 Brixton Road, Brixton SW9 2LH
Price: £8.00
Note to Editors
For further information contact Deuan German at CEN: 020 8432 0530 or 07958 546 113. Email: deuangerman@hotmail.com
For tickets: http://www.ticketweb.co.uk/user/?region=gb_london&query=detail&event=313684&interface=
Posted here by Glenn Rikowski
The Flow of Ideas: http://www.flowideas.co.uk
