Guvna B: from emcee to Youth Music co-chair

Growing up in Newham, East London, placing him in the grime music lineage of the likes of Kano, Ghetts, and Dizzee Rascal, Guvna B is a MOBO-winning rapper, author, broadcaster, and now co-chair of Youth Music. Despite limited music opportunities growing up, he’s become a leading voice in the UK’s rap and hip-hop scene, and also works as a football pundit for Sky Sports. He chats to Headliner about his work as co-chair of Youth Music and helping the underrepresented voices in the UK who could become the next Stormzy or Little Simz.

Born to Ghanaian parents, Guvna B experienced a religious upbringing in East London, still influencing the Christian slant on his music to this day. He got a degree in business and journalism from the University of Hertfordshire, then returned to London to begin creating his unique take on UK rap – unlike his grime contemporaries, he released UK hip hop that combined urban and gospel sounds.

It was a forward-thinking approach that paid off, including two MOBO Awards for Best Gospel Act, three Urban Music Awards for Best Gospel Act or Artist, and a Gospel Music Award for Best Gospel Artist. In 2013, he achieved a milestone by becoming the first rapper to top the Official Christian and Gospel Charts with his album, Odd1Out. All the while, he also caught attention by appearing on tracks with the likes of Ghetts, D Double E, and Wretch 32. And, as a dedicated West Ham fan, has appeared as a football pundit on Sky Sports News. Creativity runs in the family; he is a cousin of Michaela Coel, best known as the lead actor and creator of I May Destroy You.

Another impressive entry on his CV, he recently became co-chair of Youth Music. He joins the organisation at a fork in the road moment for young people and music in the UK, especially regarding diversity and representation. In a recent report, Youth Music found that only 29 percent of young people from Global Majority backgrounds feel represented in the music industry, compared to 53 percent of white musicians. The report also found problems with a Eurocentric curriculum and cultural bias, leaving many music students feeling unseen, and a lack of visible role models in the industry from GM backgrounds. Add to this systemic barriers to career progression, a lack of funding for grassroots music spaces, and the chances of the next Stormzy, Little Simz, or Ezra Collective are being stifled. 

“I grew up on what my parents played, which was a lot of Motown stuff, a lot of gospel, some jazz, some blues,” Guvna B says. “We were the annoying house on the street that would always play quite loud music. But I think people loved it. As I got into my early teens, I started to develop my own taste, and that came from what was happening around me. I grew up in Custom House, East London, and that was the home of grime music. It started off with Dizzee Rascal, Wiley, and a crew called Ruff Sqwad. And then Kano, who lived in East Ham, a stone's throw away from me, started to do really well. He had a song called P's and Q's, which was on TV, MTV Bass. That inspired me to write down lyrics, the fact that someone from my area was able to do that.”

Next to some of those wildly successful names mentioned to put Grime and UK rap music on the map after decades of American dominance, some might be surprised to learn that Guvna B has been in the game almost as long as the likes of Kano; he first started dropping music in 2008, in Grime’s initial heyday. His fame has been a much slower burn, perhaps because he didn’t completely align himself with those garage and jungle-influenced sounds of the early noughties, instead carving out his own sound with gospel and hip-hop influences.

Of his particularly unique entry point into emceeing, he says, “I started rapping when I was 15 in the playground at school, battle rapping, saying some not very nice things about people's mothers. And then my youth leader at the local church would run youth projects for music and football, and that kind of stuff. He challenged me to write an EP or an album with more positive lyrics, and he paid for the studio time. And that's how I got into music.”

One could easily make the argument that Guvna B has built his music career and other ventures from his vibrant positivity. So, working with Youth Music, which has done so many positive things for young people and the UK music industry at large, is a very comfortable fit for both. The organisation is not just about helping young people participate in music, but knocking down the many barriers preventing them from earning a living from their passion. Their funding projects have helped young creatives launch music careers. They have helped over 120,000 children and young people get access to learn about and make music, and have invested nearly ten million pounds into grassroots music, making sure plenty of that is divested outside of London, where it is often needed the most.

On becoming Youth Music’s co-chair, Guvna B says, “I think I interacted with Youth Music through projects in my teenage years, without actually knowing that it was Youth Music. Because we do so much and support so many projects up and down the country, but we don't always put a big fat Youth Music banner across the front. They've invested in my career without me really knowing it in my teenage years. A couple of years ago, I got the opportunity — I had a message from someone on LinkedIn who thought I would be good in this co-chair role because of my work in secondary schools up and down the country. I've been to over 500 secondary schools doing music workshops, and we're just really passionate about giving young people an opportunity to succeed in music.”

Guvna B and Youth Music use the term for people from non-white backgrounds as ‘global majority’, a more positive spin on the more commonly used ‘ethnic minority’, considering people hailing from parts of the world such as Asia, the Middle East, and Africa quite literally make up the global populous majority. And, when you consider the UK music industry generated eight billion pounds for the economy in 2024 alone, it seems common sense to rip those barriers down so that the next Stormzy or Little Simz can reach full potential in their careers. When you look at some of the biggest UK artists and bands who have made it, the evidence of how many went through the most expensive private schools in the country, leading to incredible connections in the industry, is fairly damning. In terms of the systemic barriers that make it harder for GM musicians and music professionals to make it in the industry, the emcee has a great analogy for what the experience is like for artists such as himself.

“I think the big thing to pull out of the Youth Music report is this isn't just about rappers or singers. That's not the only way that people can get into music and earn from music. You could become a label executive, an A&R, or a tour manager. But, because of the structures that are in place, it seems that a lot of people from my kind of background are locked out of those networks. But the report is not just about highlighting the problem; we're in a position to offer a solution.

“I like to describe it like this: newer cars these days all come with a sat nav, and if you type in an address, you'll get to where you're going. Everyone has to face some traffic or a congestion charge, whatever it is that makes the journey a little bit longer. It's not a report saying that no one else has barriers. But I'd say that people from global majority backgrounds often don't even get a sat nav. They have the traffic and the congestion charge, but you gotta get out of the car, go ask for directions, and the whole situation just takes way longer, and it's way harder. The report highlights that GM people don't see themselves in the industry. They don't have enough role models to look to.”

With all this in mind, Guvna B feels lucky that a certain few opportunities were presented to him that proved vital in turning his passion into a career. He’s all too aware that too many young British musicians and aspiring professionals aren’t so lucky.

“The main thing that I would say is that I didn't have access to people in the industry that could mentor me, or give me an opportunity, teach me about the ins and outs of the music industry,” he explains. “Also, I got really lucky. My youth leader gave me some free studio time, and I did some live performances in Newham at a place called Community Links on the Barking Road, and Tinie Tempah’s manager happened to be there. I got invited on tour with Tinie. It goes back to the point about Little Simz: it's one story that's amazing, and my story is one story that's amazing. But what we're passionate about at Youth Music is making the barrier to entry less exclusive. It’s not saying that everyone's gonna go on tour with a big artist or headline Wembley. It’s about giving everyone a good opportunity to learn and earn from music at whatever level is suitable.”

And for Guvna B, the proof is in the pudding when it comes to the huge impact Youth Music is having with their mission to help young musicians and young adults interested in the industry.

“Every year, we hold the Youth Music Awards, and attending my first one earlier this year was incredible,” he says. “I've been to other shows, like the Brits, but this was special: an award show full of young people who, without our funding and support, wouldn't be able to pursue what makes them feel alive. The room was full of so much joy and love. One thing I realised was the number of established artists, like Loyle Carner, Ezra Collective, and Jordan Stevens from Rizzle Kicks, who have all passed through Youth Music-funded projects, often without even knowing it at the time. They look back and realise that without that early support, having access to things like a drum kit or bass guitar in a funded project, it would have been much harder to get to where they are today.”

Finally, for anyone interested in pursuing Youth Music’s opportunities, or supporting the organisation, he says it’s as simple as: “Jump on the Youth Music website. There are various ways that you can get involved monthly, looking at what's happening in your own area, or seeing if there's a local youth group that you can support.”