all right mum what’s all this you’ve
been telling us about man just have a
lovely Christmas Day and now you want to
sit us down and tell us this big
announcement Carla stop throwing stuff
at me man what’s wrong with you
mommies look keep messing around you see
the problem
all right okay no seriously Carla my
mom’s got something serious to say mom
what’s up tell us don’t worry man what’s
the what’s the problem what would you
what do you mean my dad’s dead how did
he what I don’t I don’t
what broke come on let’s do this let’s
do this let’s do this
ha ha crash you can never catch me no
way see him I stopped eating what’s
wrong with you I’ve got a mushroom of a
mushroom Oh Oh being me – ridiculous
ok I’m getting a phone call that’s why
you’re winning I’m getting a phone call
man who’s that oh come on
all right cool for for out for listen
let’s go again let’s go again I’ll get a
phone call that’s why you beat me man
let’s go
I’m ready ok let’s go come crash
mushroom mushroom uh slushy ketchup brew
ketchup ketchup bro let’s go oh why so
much don’t bring me what is this man I
pause it for six key in man yo Joe
Stalin what calm down what’s wrong
what’s wrong what what do you mean
what’s my real got shot we talking about
is he or is he all right
what real got shot and he’s dead
devastation confusion and injustice
those are the emotions that you feel
when you lose the ones that you love so
in 2009 after 18 years of growing up
without my dad he passed away and at his
funeral REO brought a wreath to lay down
and pay his respects as a part of my
football team and my friends a year
later I was preparing for Rios funeral
so according to statistics between April
2016 and 2017 there were over 2,500 gun
crime incidents in London and of the
single-parent households in the UK 40%
are apparently Caribbean and 36% are
apparently African so my people what
does that tell us that tells us that
what you’ve just seen is not common in
our communities and it’s happening to
people like us all the time the crazy
part about it is you’d think that
growing up without your dad would make
it easier to lose him it doesn’t you’re
still devastated you’re still confused
you still have this feeling of injustice
there’s this emotional void that you
have as a young man growing up without a
father
that cannot be
filled by anything she is scary because
I remember one of my friends come into
my house and he was pumped and I just
had a ruckus with my dad man but I
rocked him though he knows I’m strong
and he’s telling me about the story him
this and you say like Jeremy stop
fighting me and he’s working him and I’m
listening to the story and I’m going
through the emotional ride with him and
I’m laughing when he’s laughing and I’m
sad and I’m comforting him when he’s
angry and he’s not he’s confused and I
remember at a moment just looking in his
eyes I just happened to be honest with
myself inside and say this is so painful
this is so painful to watch knowing that
I am never going to experience that
talking with friends talking with
cousins about stories they’ve had with
their that funny things that that’s do
and bad things that dads do and things
that they learn from them every time I
hear that I might laugh along and I
might contribute to the conversation
well there’s a little bit inside of me
that is in so much pain because I know
that that is something that I was robbed
off of the opportunity and it might
sound cliche but I’m talking about
learning how to shave I’m talking about
learning how to speak to women I’m
talking about having questions about sex
and sexuality and religion and politics
and not having anyone to go to the irony
of it is I probably learned more about
being a man from real and my friends
than I did from my dad real Dennis
McFarland that was my bro that is my bro
sorry and he was the type of person so
first and foremost having read was like
having a younger older brother he was
bigger than everyone he had the beard
first first person to buy a moped person
with order
let’s to go and speak to women Andrey
was just such a gentle soul but he was
so comfortable real was the type of
person if he went to your house and you
weren’t there
he would go and sleep in your bed I kid
you not this story I kid you not me real
Joel we’re going out we leave the house
and the 21 bus stop he’s just across the
road from my house
Andrey says his car I need some a toilet
you know I said take my key quickly go
toilet the bus has come and be quick
couple minutes go by the bus goes past
restore not here so I’ll go to a house
and the doors open ok so I’ll go to take
the first step upstairs and I see real
trainers ok think anything of it half
way up the stairs
I see videos trousers I get to the top
of the stairs
I see Rios coat and his t-shirt real
what are you doing bro I like to be
comfortable when I’m doing my business
man but you kept remaking a bowl of Coco
Pops in your house he was just that
comfortable genuine type of soul and I
remember we would take trips to go and
watched Alex Hamlet first team play on a
Saturday and read that read wasn’t a
person if he’s going to the shop and you
don’t have money you’re both Ian and we
go to college Hamlin would go Domino’s
pizza and we talked about everything
under the Sun from girls to football to
school everything and when you’re young
those are the things that matter when
you’re young that’s what’s important
and that’s what makes it so painful to
be so young and to have someone taken
away from you because you’re not
supposed to lose people you love that
young but although death is something of
devastation confusion and injustice I’m
not here to tell you about it I’m here
to tell you about hope I’m here to tell
you that despite
what the stats may say about us despite
the stereotypes when you lose someone
you have a choice when you lose someone
you have a choice as to whether their
legacy with you is one of devastation
confusion and injustice or their legacy
with you is one of ambition of love of
family you see every time I leave my
house I look up in the sky and I know
that my dad and real are smiling down on
me I know that I have something to prove
since rio passed away me and his family
have developed such a strong
relationship i speak to his mom whenever
i can
I’m close with all of his family members
and I feel like he’s even rained down
more blessings on us we’ve had new
additions to the family in his brother’s
daughter a little real and his cousin’s
son little Khalil and it’s really
started to show me what’s important in
life
and at my dad’s funeral I remember my
little brother from my dad’s side came
up to say a speech to talk and he stood
next to me and he took the paper out of
his pocket and I think he must have
written a letter the boy was so
heartbroken he couldn’t read his hands
were shaking so I took the letter from
him and I read it on his behalf and then
I lost contact with him and then finally
about a year or two years ago we managed
to reach out to him again and every time
I’m with him I feel as though we might
not necessarily be able to feel that
emotion of wait but we’re doing
something about it and family is very
important but if there’s anything that
death has taught me is that I no longer
make decisions based on fear we are all
going to go one day you cannot afford to
live your life within your comfort zone
because you’re scared and
so since Rio passed away since my dad
passed away I’ve taken decisions in my
life that I’ve taken me on a different
trajectory whether that be deciding to
get a first class degree in
international relations and politics or
deciding to quit my job and focus on
running my own business and now be in a
year in and we’ve worked with over 1200
young people and I’ve spoken at old
trafford
and I’m speaking in front of you today
and I’ll speak on many other platforms
but with the motivation and the
inspiration that we have a choice to
decide what legacy we live we leave
behind because we cannot afford to let
the stereotypes and these statistics
define us so if there’s anything that
you take from what I’ve told you today
take this death is hard
death is devastating but you have a
choice that person that you love their
legacy lives with you you decide what
legacy you are going to leave behind is
it one of devastation confusion and
injustice or is it of love and ambition
and family you choose thank you very
much for listening
you
been telling us about man just have a
lovely Christmas Day and now you want to
sit us down and tell us this big
announcement Carla stop throwing stuff
at me man what’s wrong with you
mommies look keep messing around you see
the problem
all right okay no seriously Carla my
mom’s got something serious to say mom
what’s up tell us don’t worry man what’s
the what’s the problem what would you
what do you mean my dad’s dead how did
he what I don’t I don’t
what broke come on let’s do this let’s
do this let’s do this
ha ha crash you can never catch me no
way see him I stopped eating what’s
wrong with you I’ve got a mushroom of a
mushroom Oh Oh being me – ridiculous
ok I’m getting a phone call that’s why
you’re winning I’m getting a phone call
man who’s that oh come on
all right cool for for out for listen
let’s go again let’s go again I’ll get a
phone call that’s why you beat me man
let’s go
I’m ready ok let’s go come crash
mushroom mushroom uh slushy ketchup brew
ketchup ketchup bro let’s go oh why so
much don’t bring me what is this man I
pause it for six key in man yo Joe
Stalin what calm down what’s wrong
what’s wrong what what do you mean
what’s my real got shot we talking about
is he or is he all right
what real got shot and he’s dead
devastation confusion and injustice
those are the emotions that you feel
when you lose the ones that you love so
in 2009 after 18 years of growing up
without my dad he passed away and at his
funeral REO brought a wreath to lay down
and pay his respects as a part of my
football team and my friends a year
later I was preparing for Rios funeral
so according to statistics between April
2016 and 2017 there were over 2,500 gun
crime incidents in London and of the
single-parent households in the UK 40%
are apparently Caribbean and 36% are
apparently African so my people what
does that tell us that tells us that
what you’ve just seen is not common in
our communities and it’s happening to
people like us all the time the crazy
part about it is you’d think that
growing up without your dad would make
it easier to lose him it doesn’t you’re
still devastated you’re still confused
you still have this feeling of injustice
there’s this emotional void that you
have as a young man growing up without a
father
that cannot be
filled by anything she is scary because
I remember one of my friends come into
my house and he was pumped and I just
had a ruckus with my dad man but I
rocked him though he knows I’m strong
and he’s telling me about the story him
this and you say like Jeremy stop
fighting me and he’s working him and I’m
listening to the story and I’m going
through the emotional ride with him and
I’m laughing when he’s laughing and I’m
sad and I’m comforting him when he’s
angry and he’s not he’s confused and I
remember at a moment just looking in his
eyes I just happened to be honest with
myself inside and say this is so painful
this is so painful to watch knowing that
I am never going to experience that
talking with friends talking with
cousins about stories they’ve had with
their that funny things that that’s do
and bad things that dads do and things
that they learn from them every time I
hear that I might laugh along and I
might contribute to the conversation
well there’s a little bit inside of me
that is in so much pain because I know
that that is something that I was robbed
off of the opportunity and it might
sound cliche but I’m talking about
learning how to shave I’m talking about
learning how to speak to women I’m
talking about having questions about sex
and sexuality and religion and politics
and not having anyone to go to the irony
of it is I probably learned more about
being a man from real and my friends
than I did from my dad real Dennis
McFarland that was my bro that is my bro
sorry and he was the type of person so
first and foremost having read was like
having a younger older brother he was
bigger than everyone he had the beard
first first person to buy a moped person
with order
let’s to go and speak to women Andrey
was just such a gentle soul but he was
so comfortable real was the type of
person if he went to your house and you
weren’t there
he would go and sleep in your bed I kid
you not this story I kid you not me real
Joel we’re going out we leave the house
and the 21 bus stop he’s just across the
road from my house
Andrey says his car I need some a toilet
you know I said take my key quickly go
toilet the bus has come and be quick
couple minutes go by the bus goes past
restore not here so I’ll go to a house
and the doors open ok so I’ll go to take
the first step upstairs and I see real
trainers ok think anything of it half
way up the stairs
I see videos trousers I get to the top
of the stairs
I see Rios coat and his t-shirt real
what are you doing bro I like to be
comfortable when I’m doing my business
man but you kept remaking a bowl of Coco
Pops in your house he was just that
comfortable genuine type of soul and I
remember we would take trips to go and
watched Alex Hamlet first team play on a
Saturday and read that read wasn’t a
person if he’s going to the shop and you
don’t have money you’re both Ian and we
go to college Hamlin would go Domino’s
pizza and we talked about everything
under the Sun from girls to football to
school everything and when you’re young
those are the things that matter when
you’re young that’s what’s important
and that’s what makes it so painful to
be so young and to have someone taken
away from you because you’re not
supposed to lose people you love that
young but although death is something of
devastation confusion and injustice I’m
not here to tell you about it I’m here
to tell you about hope I’m here to tell
you that despite
what the stats may say about us despite
the stereotypes when you lose someone
you have a choice when you lose someone
you have a choice as to whether their
legacy with you is one of devastation
confusion and injustice or their legacy
with you is one of ambition of love of
family you see every time I leave my
house I look up in the sky and I know
that my dad and real are smiling down on
me I know that I have something to prove
since rio passed away me and his family
have developed such a strong
relationship i speak to his mom whenever
i can
I’m close with all of his family members
and I feel like he’s even rained down
more blessings on us we’ve had new
additions to the family in his brother’s
daughter a little real and his cousin’s
son little Khalil and it’s really
started to show me what’s important in
life
and at my dad’s funeral I remember my
little brother from my dad’s side came
up to say a speech to talk and he stood
next to me and he took the paper out of
his pocket and I think he must have
written a letter the boy was so
heartbroken he couldn’t read his hands
were shaking so I took the letter from
him and I read it on his behalf and then
I lost contact with him and then finally
about a year or two years ago we managed
to reach out to him again and every time
I’m with him I feel as though we might
not necessarily be able to feel that
emotion of wait but we’re doing
something about it and family is very
important but if there’s anything that
death has taught me is that I no longer
make decisions based on fear we are all
going to go one day you cannot afford to
live your life within your comfort zone
because you’re scared and
so since Rio passed away since my dad
passed away I’ve taken decisions in my
life that I’ve taken me on a different
trajectory whether that be deciding to
get a first class degree in
international relations and politics or
deciding to quit my job and focus on
running my own business and now be in a
year in and we’ve worked with over 1200
young people and I’ve spoken at old
trafford
and I’m speaking in front of you today
and I’ll speak on many other platforms
but with the motivation and the
inspiration that we have a choice to
decide what legacy we live we leave
behind because we cannot afford to let
the stereotypes and these statistics
define us so if there’s anything that
you take from what I’ve told you today
take this death is hard
death is devastating but you have a
choice that person that you love their
legacy lives with you you decide what
legacy you are going to leave behind is
it one of devastation confusion and
injustice or is it of love and ambition
and family you choose thank you very
much for listening
you
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