23
Dec
While the country obsesses about the latest starlets on Pop Idol, away from the media spotlight a very different project is grooming stars of its own.
Tribal Tree is a not-for-profit agency that gives professional training and mentoring to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds who display exceptional musical potential. The voluntary sector’s answer to Fame Academy has just scored its biggest success, with two major record labels bidding to sign one of its young artists for an album deal.Ben Drew, aka Plan B, a 17-year-old rapper, singer and songwriter from east London, has come a long way since he joined Tribal Tree’s artist development program three years ago.
“He was like an uncut diamond,” says project director Kevin Osborne. “He was talented but undisciplined, and had an arrogant front that hid his vulnerability. The process of challenging him on a personal level has allowed us to get to the musician and develop his potential as a creative artist, but also as a young man.” [more @ www.guardian.co.uk]0