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RETURN OF THE MAC: Jas with artist Simon Frederick in front of his portrait of Gordon Mac

WE often bemoan the fact that black writers/ artists/ painters/ creative businesses sometimes have difficulty getting mainstream recognition? But of course, that’s not always the case.

I recently attended a photography exhibition for an old friend, photographer Simon Fredericks. Aptly titled My Mates At Work, the exhibition featured an array of images of – you guessed it – Simon’s friends in their working environments.

Ironically, a lot of his subjects are my mates too, as we share similar social circles. From actor David Harewood, DJ Trevor Nelson, former KISS radio head Gordon Mac and PR guru Jodie Dalmeda, Simon captured striking images of plenty of professionals.

He then added a variety of effects to the photos, giving them a canvas painted look and feel. The final effect on each image was stunning and powerful.

Showcased at Gallery Different in London, the exhibition was launched with a successful event, attended by most of the artist’s subjects – and, refreshingly, didn’t go unnoticed by the mainstream.

In an era where the extremely wealthy and elite have had enough of cribs, rides and bling, I can truly see portraits being next on their acquisitions lists… perhaps starting with a ‘Frederick’.

HEY MR DJ: Frederick displays his image of Trevor Nelson

From songs to scripture…

CAN you imagine waking up one morning to discover one of your mates, who lives up the road from you and used to be an MC, had become a star on the American small screen?

That’s exactly what happened to me when I discovered my friend Lonyo Engele, who enjoyed success with his garage anthem Summer Of Love back in 2000, stars in the in the US TV series The Bible, which aired on the History Channel.

Suddenly, I kept seeing Lonyo’s face everywhere: on posters, on the Facebook timelines of my American friends, and in trailers for the miniseries, which was watched by over 13 million viewers!

You may recall me telling you last year about Lonyo making his acting debut in a film called David is Dying, which I caught at the BUFF Film Festival. It went on to win him a Screen Nation best actor award, “the day before my birthday’,” Lonyo beamed, before adding: “It was a great moment.”

The film also went on to win an award at the American Black Film Festival, making it the first British film to earn that distinction!
Then came the opportunity for his latest role in The Bible, which was created by British husband and wife team Mark Burnet and Roma Downey.

“I went for an audition for The Bible – I actually got flown out to Morocco for it,” Lonyo recalled. “I auditioned for one of the king’s parts. At the same time, I was also filming for the BBC drama New Tricks.

Alas, Londyo didn’t get the role of the king but instead landed an equally exciting role.

GURADIAN ANGEL: Jas and Lonyo

“I got a call saying I had got the guardian angel role. So I was flown to Morocco again for six weeks to film the part, which Included two weeks of sword and stunt training. Clearly I had to know how to hold a sword for the role! The other angel was a world champion swords man so I had to really step up and focus.”

He added: “The role of my character is to deliver the message to Abraham that he's being tested and to let him know that we're going to destroy the city of Sodom. I was quite familiar with the Bible before, as I go to church. But I had to re-familiarise myself with it.”
Lonyo admits that he’s still learning as an actor.

“I haven't had much training and I'm still in training now, so I’ve had to go with my hunches so far. One hunch didn't go well when I tried to act a bit cockney. The director was like, “Ummm, less cockney please!”

Revealing how the opportunity to audition for the show first came about, he said: “I got this via my agent at Identity Drama School, his name is Femi. It’s the Number one black agency in the country and it allowed me to progress to where I am now.”

Smiling about the red carpet events he now regularly attends, he said: “I experienced a lot of that stuff when I was a musician, but I’m older and wiser now. I prefer to work. But winning awards for acting is great. I don't find the same age barriers in the acting world that there are in music. In the acting world, you can start at 40 – in pop music, that’s well past it.”

Get ready people: west Londoner Lonyo is biting at the heels of Idris and will no doubt be a big name on your screens very soon.