This documentary is inspired by the book I’m A Gun. It addresses street violence and the psychological and physiological hold the nature of the gun has over our youths. Listen to some of our inspirational and out spoken members of our community share their views.
Judging from the trailer nothing new is being said that I haven’t heard before or discussed with others on numerous occasions. But I guess the documentary’s target audience is today’s male black youth.
However it is always good seeing rapper Akala. The man is genuine, knows what he is talking about and doesn’t hold back. But as well as listening to the views of artists like Akala I also want to hear from professionals within our community – teachers, social workers, solicitors, barristers, members from the police force and medical professionals who have to clean up the blood shed after another pointless shooting/stabbing is committed on the streets..
I hope that the other contributors featured in this documentary are not just made up of a bunch of ‘road men’ in their late twenties, thirties, forties and in some cases their fifties, who are still lost, never held down a full time job in their lives, still speak entirely in street slang and list their occupations as being a ‘recording artist’, ‘CEO of ‘(insert name of random community based foundation here), ‘youth worker’ or ‘mentor’.
I personally cannot take those types of ‘contributors’ seriously.
Our kids DON’T need to see failures, they need to see successes. [Anonymous].
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MAD NEWS UK 
Don’t hold back now janice…lol get it off ya chest…
This looks good, a lot of people talking sense, the problem is…………the where do we go from here question never seems to be asked and please don’t tell me the answer is only music
@Chico-rei
Let’s hope the documentary addresses that question because you are right it never seems to be tackled. It’s just loads of talk, stuff that I have heard for years.
I personally feel that those kids who have no real role models in their lives are in need of decent mentors within the community. Mentors who hold down stable jobs, live respectable lives and who these kids will aspire to be at some point. I think this is the way forward. Being around mentors like that could really make a difference in their lives.
Some seem to think that what makes a good mentor to the troubled youth are men who used to live the same destructive lifestyles in their youth,have been in and out of prison. and speak the “lingo” and now claim to rap for a living. It is assumed that the kids will be able to relate to them. But In reality these types of ‘mentors’ are not necessarily the best role models because they are still lost themselves and still have one foot in the streets.
Stephen Graham’s previous documentary ‘Where Do We Go From Here’ (https://madnewsuk.com/2013/08/13/black-british-documentary-full-length-where-do-we-go-from-here/).
Vey true, that’s the one thing that is really lacking black role models who do more than rap and sing and it’s true what you say they don’t always have to have lived that life, they just need to be strong, reliable, positive people, who have good values and take pride in what they do, the people that moan about the black community the most, have to step up and start mentoring some of these lost youth, and the one thing I think they need to learn the most besides black history is business skills and putting money back into the community, like the Asians do.
@Chico-Rei
Spot on this is what needs to happen
There was an article in the Evening Standard a couple of months ago about former gang members who have now started their own business. One set up a removal company firm and one has started his own event planning company.
For me a former criminal who has gone on to build a respectable business or has gone on to find full time employment etc and has come full circle also make good mentors. Not men who say they have left the life behind but still haven’t really made much of an effort to move on with their lives, spending their days at home, on road or in the barbershop shooting the breeze. The way they carry themselves, their body language, their appearance and the way they articulate themselves – there is just this air of laziness.
Even the troubled youths they are ‘mentoring’ can see through them.
Many also just turn to the entertainment industry because they think it’s easy to get in to and doesn’t require much effort. If you watch the documentary Where Do We Go From Here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei-lzGw-BLY
One former gang member from South London now in his 30s is a perfect example.
Yeah I remember watching that documentary and thinking a lot of the guys were a bit messed up and saw music as the only way out, where they basically rap about when they were road men, saying the same thing, don’t be on road, become a rapper and talk about being on road, like that’s gonna help the future generations.
To be honest it hurts to say but from my personally experience I think a lot of the troubled black youths especially boys are spoilt by their mothers and in some cases the government and need tough love and guidance from mentors.
I agree. Many are spoilt by their mothers. I have witnessed it and seen it go down in my own family. Mother’s thinking that if they spoil these boys it will keep them at home and keep them on the straight and narrow. Instead they grow up to become spoilt a-holes who believe the world owes them a living.
I think former gang members run into music because no one is going to ask you for work background and references. As long as you can build up a fan base and sing about your road man antics and sell, you are good to go.
Yes that’s true. But the majority of the time most fail to build a fan base who is willing to actually buy their music.