Jamal Edwards (1990 – 2022)

Jamal Edwards (1990 – 2022)

‘We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever. The goal is to create something that will’

~ Jamal Edwards

Music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards died last week, aged just 31.  He apparently suffered a heart attack after performing as a DJ the previous night.  His mother Brenda was with him at home – they shared a close bond, and her grief is unimaginable.  In his short 31 years, he had set up a groundbreaking new channel for music, launched some legendary musical talents, earned an M.B.E., and set up various projects to enable young and vulnerable people.

Birth Chart

Jamal had over half (6) of his planets in Earth signs, so was very grounded.  His Sun was in Virgo (he was unassuming and enjoyed peace and quiet), square to Mars (the Warrior) and trine Uranus (the Innovator).  We do not  have his birth time.  Mercury was trine Mars in his chart, giving rise to the musical genres of rap and grime, with which he was associated.  With Mars also trine Saturn, this gave him a Grand Trine in Earth, which will have empowered his efforts.  He also had the problem-solving Mercury-Chiron sextile, which was exact.  Venus and Jupiter conjunct the South Node implied that he had honed his musical talents in past lives successfully.

Life and Career

Jamal was born in Luton, and brought up later in Acton.  At school, he enjoyed ICT and music.  According to the Guardian obituary by Peter Mason he was a “class clown, rebelling against his strict Christian upbringing and subject to a short attention span that needed constant stimulation.”  After leaving school he attended West London College and obtained a BTEC diploma in Media Moving Image.  His mother gave him a video camera when he was 15, and he worked at Topman while filming videos with his friends, posting them on YouTube.  He founded a media platform SBTV, and promoted young musicians such as Ed Sheeran, Jessie J, Stormzy and Emeli Sande before they were famous.  His channel received a huge boost in 2011 when it was featured in a Google Chrome advertisment.  The subscription of the SBTV channel subsequently grew to over a million.

Other Projects and Timelines

In 2013 Jamal he produced an ebook entitled “Self-belief: The Vision: How to be a Success on Your Own Terms”.

In 2015 he was awarded an MBE for services to music

In 2017 he made a documentary about male suicide, with the Guardian.

In 2019 he set up JED (Jamal Edwards Delve), a grassroots youth-centre project.

In 2020 he worked with the Department of Education, encouraging young people to undertake apprenticeships.

He was keen to promote mental wellbeing, stating:

“Anxiety comes over me at the most random times. I wanted to create awareness. As much as music is my entry point, I feel a responsibility to talk about these other issues. I wanted to get people talking to each other and they have been, I’m happy.”

Brenda Edwards

Brenda Edwards came fourth in the 2005 series of the X-Factor, and went on to play various roles in musicals on stage.  She has been more well-known since joining the ladies on Loose Women.  I have watched her on the programme, and admired her resilience, hearing of her difficult life.  Viewers will find this tragedy of lost motherhood all the more poignant, feeling they “know” her.

Single mother Brenda has a remarkable birth chart, with three exact conjunctions: Venus conjunct Saturn (she has had very difficult relationships), Jupiter conjunct Uranus (The Entrepreneur Archetype), and Chiron conjunct the North Node in Aries (the wounded healer); plus another conjunction, of Mars conjunct Neptune, with a three degree orb.

Tragically, Brenda lost both her parents in a car crash in 1974.  This week, losing Jamal, Jupiter was transiting her natal Sun, exactly the same transit as when she lost her parents.  Normally, Jupiter is seen as the benefic, but some people consistently experience Jupiter as difficult, and see Saturn as the benefic.  This is a startling example of that.

Brenda has a daughter, Tanisha, and is supported by the Loose Women team.  She was enormously proud of Jamal’s achievements, and knew that he was much loved in the musical community.  She gave a spirited vocal performance this week at a vigil for Jamal.

Jamal was an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust, and Prince Charles wrote:

“His work in music but also as an ambassador for a new generation, including his work for The Prince’s Trust, were an inspiration to so many”