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The 24-year-old entrepreneur picks up his medal from Buckingham Palace
YOUNG ENTREPRENEUR and founder of youth broadcasting channel SB.TV Jamal Edwards picked up his MBE from Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace yesterday (March 26).
The 24-year-old, known for revolutionising the UK music scene and discovering some of the biggest talent, was named in the Queen's New Year Honours list in January.
"Today has been so mad," he wrote on Instagram after picking up his medal. "I am now Jamal Edwards #MBE. Thank you for all your love. Today for me has proven with #SelfBelief anything becomes possible."
Self Belief is the title of Edwards' debut book and is the mantra he lives his life by.
Talking to The Voice last year about his success, Edwards claimed “self-belief is the main ingredient" to his success.
He said: “I'm a rebel at heart. When people say 'no' I do it anyway because I know I can. That's why self-belief is so important.
"Of course I get worried when I launch something new. I wonder if it will connect with my audience, but it's important not to dwell on that and go full steam ahead.”
Dubbed the 'Simon Cowell of grime music', Edwards founded SB.TV, named after his rapping moniker Smokey Barz, in 2006 as a platform to push the UK grime scene.
BY ROYAL APPOINTMENT: Edwards collects his medal from Prince Charles
The online channel, which also hosts lifestyle interviews and event coverage, now boasts over 150 million YouTube hits and over 215,000 channel subscribers.
The self-made multimillionaire, who grew up on an Acton council estate in west London, is also an ambassador for MTV’s Staying Alive Foundation.
When he was announced on the Queen's New Year Honours list, he took to Facebook to share his delight.
"I'm honoured to be one of the youngest people awarded with an MBE. Never in a million years did I ever think I would receive such an accolade. For me this is about us - the youth," he said.
"With so much negativity around us it's hard sometimes to stay positive and fight for your dreams. When I started my YouTube channel I was working at Topman, I worked there for four years investing in myself. The world won't help you, I learnt that early, you have to help yourself, you have to invest [in] yourself to better your life."