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GIVING BACK: Krept and Konan with Jon Atkinson from Archbishop Lanfranc school

MOBO AWARD-winning rappers Krept and Konan have joined forces with Croydon Council to help local students in the area recognise their talent.

The duo, both born in Thornton Heath - within the borough of Croydon - announced their new venture at a council cabinet meeting yesterday evening (Jan 18).

“We want to give the youth of Croydon a chance that we never had. Paving the way for the next generation is a matter of the heart, and the PD Foundation is in our hearts,” Krept said.

Under their Positive Direction Foundation, the award-winning musical duo, who picked up Best Album and Best Hip-Hop Act at the annual MOBO Awards, will work with a number of Croydon schools, providing workshops in creative and song writing, sound engineering and graphic design and programming.

Designed to motivate and engage local youngsters aged between 11 and 18, they’ve secured the services of a raft of industry experts such as Kritikal Media, JC and Nia to facilitate the after-school courses and share their expertise.

Each school involved will be offered up to 30 places on the programme, which will also include mentoring sessions, access to an online community to connect and network, and a closing graduation ceremony for students to showcase their work to Krept and Konan.

"I chose to give something back to Croydon because it made me who I am today. I've lost and gained so much over the years, but now in my position, I want to breathe life back into the community," Konan added.

The 2013 the duo’s self-released mixtape Young Kingz catapulted them to stardom – and into the history books after they became the highest-charting unsigned act, reaching No.19 in the UK Albums Chart.

But last year, 25-year-old Krept revealed that his journey to the top wasn’t as smooth as their ascent to the top of the charts.

“I remember [my mum] saying, ‘I have failed as a parent’,” Krept recalls. “She was just crying. I thought: “I’m done here. I’m going to do everything in my power to change that,” the rapper told ES Magazine.

Krept spent his teenage years getting into trouble, usually for petty offences – “little things like setting fireworks off in the street,” he said.

His father was in prison for drug offences his older brother was “a lot of trouble,” meaning he was his mother’s last hope, he told the publication.

“I’d do anything to please my mum,” he said.

Equally so, Konan, 26, has also calmed his former wild ways.

“My mum always used to say to me,: ‘If you don’t fix up, you’re going to end up in jail.’ I used to be like: ‘you don’t know anything, it’s not your day any more.’ And I did go down that road and ended up sitting there by myself, realising my mum was right.”

He was jailed in 2007 for robbery and spent one year behind bars.

“When you’ve got 23-hour bang-up, told when you can have a shower, searched everywhere you go…I didn’t break down in there, but realised there was so many things I wanted to do in life.

“A lot of my friends were going to jail. I’ve seen a lot of friends die. You can’t win like that and I don’t like to lose.”
Upon Konan’s release, the pair, who met as south London schoolboys, channelled more energy into their music and have gone on to make their mothers proud.

Leader of Croydon Council, Tony Newman said of the partnership: “We are delighted to be working with Krept and Konan on this fantastic project that will help motivate and inspire young people from across the borough.

“The utmost credit must go to this talented duo for their desire to help and give back to other young people in their home town. It shows just how passionate they are about sharing in their success and leaving a positive and lasting legacy on their own community.”