Gang culture is on the rise in London. Stabbings are becoming more prolific and post codes are sparking turf wars. But rather than the government installing X-ray machines to scan weapons at school entrances, it's films like Adulthood that are likely to have the most effect.
Bashy, the emcee who did the lead single for the film, ‘Kidulthood to Adulthood’, is hopeful that this is the case. He’s all for people approaching their lives more positively.
“The film concentrates on choices you make in life and what kind of path you take. On the street, a lot more is happening but at least it conveys the correct story,” he says.
“Now, my response to all the stabbings is that I’m not as shocked anymore. We as a nation of people are becoming accustomed to it.”
Bashy’s the man behind last year’s ‘Black Boys’ single and this was yet another contribution to encouraging people to raise their game.
“The song’s a celebration of achievement, and it’s not only for black boys. I’ll go and do a show and it’ll just be white kids and then they’re all like brap! White people are struggling, black people are strugging, Asian people are struggling. Especially in London, we’re all in the same community,” he says.
This is represented in Adulthood, which has a multicultural cast – “an accurate reflection of London’s society,” says Bashy. He reckons more films need to be made in this spirit.
“I think a lot of the violence is bred through slavery – people were bred to hate each other,” he opines. “We need to get out of this.”
The film itself is a brutal 24-hour journey through a west London underworld, where director Noel Clarke's dystopic universe offers little to those caught up in the vicious circle he's desperately trying to break. But its brutality puts a mirror up to the proceedings, and this is where its social relevance lies – especially in the current climate.
To recognise that these lives yield little promise, and violence is becoming endemic, is the first step towards healing. www.bashy.com
Words: Helene Dancer
