On Saturday 13th February Shelley & Sharon from Crawley Happy Times were invited to the Hawth to see some amazing talent perform for a crowded arena.

Organised by the team of youngsters who make up ViYC (Vision in Youth Collective) and headed up by Ben Freer, Chairman of ViYC, the evening was a massive success.

What is ViYC?
Vision in Youth Collective (ViYC) is a group of young people aged 14 to 25 years old who advise Crawley Borough Council’s Arts Service on events for young people. ViYC play a vital role in selecting artists for gigs like Urban Sensations and open-mic sessions Unsigned.

ViYC members have recently worked alongside Crawley International Mela Association promoting and organising a Sukshinder Shinda gig as part of the Mela festival. Over 400 young people attended the event.

ViYC are always looking for new members. For more details contact liz.hart@crawley.gov.uk or phone 01293 438156.

Urban Senations 6

Ben told us this is the 6th event in three years. They have also been involved with Mela UK last year and will be more involved with this years event. Ben, who is the longest member of ViYC and still only sixteen told us “I really want to do this type of work for a living so am really enjoying the opportunities ViYC has given me. Everyone works very hard so we hope it is a successful evening and enjoyed by all. We can not thank the Hawth and the staff enough for allowing us this great opportunity.” The staff were wonderful including Liz Hart and Dave Watmore who were quietly watching over the evening in the wings. Liz told us “the members of ViYC have once again done an amazing job of putting this together and have arranged some great headliners too. We are very proud of their achievements”.

Performers

On arrival back stage, we bumped into our young friend Rishi Sharma aka KK. We first met KK at Connect ’09 where he stole the show with his rapping. Only fourteen, KK has ambition, drive and oodles of talent. Last year we suggested keeping an eye on KK, we would like to reiterate that! KK told us he was performing with his good friend Nathan Maxwell aka Bandit. It was our first encounter with Bandit but we are sure we will see him again. Also present was Tom Jordon, KK’s manager. Tom told us he has his own set up for producing and writing music which included his own studio. Although very young Tom seems to have a good head on his shoulders, telling us he also helps out Amy and Billy Delaney. Tom went on to say he is always looking for new local talent.

Next we had a quick chat with Billy Delaney and his friends Jason Hazel aka Souljh and Callum Hopkins aka Flash. Billy told us they were performing together for tonights event. Billy has just been signed and is on his way to great things. We are very happy for Billy who has worked extremely hard over the last couple of years.

In the next room we met Lady C and the Sillouettes who gave a wonderful performance of modern day chart music. They came from all over the place except for the drummer, Lisa, who is from Crawley. We really liked their sound and hope to see them again some day.

Next we met the truly delightful gentlemen who made up Goodfoot Boy Band. These four young individuals from London came to perform their very dramatic dance moves. Bringing theatre, music and dance together, they raised the roof. We really hope to meet these amazing performers again.

In the next room we spoke to our Amy Othieno and her team comprising of Zeth Hockenden, David Simon, Jamie McGraw aka Jzida and for one night only Chelsea Mandizha was the dancer for the evenings performance. Amy has just released her second album and is now looking for a good record label to sign to. Amy is very big in New Zealand with her songs being played on a regular basis on the radio. We feel Amy would make a great addition to any recording company and we would like to wish her luck.

Oli Davis aka Phantom performed with Bandit, KK, Brutz and Alex for one night only making up a group they named Versitile. We spoke to Oli about this special performance. Please see the video for further infomation.

Last of the local performers came in the very tall gentlemanly form of Jerrone Daley aka Snooze. On stage Snooze held the audience in the palm of his hand. A very talented rap artist who we also advise keeping an eye on.

Later that evening the headliners arrived amongst a flurry of young fans. We were privileged enough to speak to all three who were very happy to give a quick interview. First we spoke toDaniel Gomez aka Saint. Saint told us he is curerently the UK battle champion (like Eminem in 8 Mile). Saint has just released a song featuring with Ndubz which you can listen to here. We were very impressed at the amount of time Saint spent out the back with some young lads, listening to them rap in turn. We wish Saint all the best for a successful future.

Saint is the UK battle champion

Next on our hit list for an interview was Jermaine Scott aka Wretch 32, who was adorable. As you will see in the interview, Shelley and Wretch hit it off straight away. It was a pleasure to speak to Wretch 32 and we wish him all the success. You can see some of Wretch 32′s music here.

Wretch 32 was a pleasure to meet

Last but not least we spoke to Tayo Jarrett aka Scorcher. Poor Scorcher had a terrible headache so we didn’t hold him up for long. Scorcher and Wretch 32 mingle in the same circles and are both grime, rap artists. Scorcher told us “I lived in a house with a big family and there was always different types of music coming from each room, so you get a good knowledge of music and rhythms which has helped me in my musical career”.

Scorcher listened to all sorts of music when he was young

Enigma Security were on hand, donating their services. Ifti Haq, Director, told us they are always happy to donate their services where the young people of Crawley are involved. They also donate their time and services for the Mela event and have done so year on year since it started.

(L-R) Jamal, Vitor and Ifti from Enigma Security

All in all, it was a wonderful evening full of great music, great organisation and great people. Well done to all who were involved. We look forward to attending Urban Sensations 7!

You can view previous Urban Sensation performances here,

Video