Fazer’s Urban Takeover is a two-part documentary which follows me on a journey to bring together seven talented young musicians who have no history or interest in classical music.
It’s for me and a team of others, including conductor Jules Buckley, to convert their outlook on the genre and give them an opportunity of a lifetime to play at the world renowned Royal Albert Hall alongside the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
Fazer meets young and talented musicians who have no interest in classical music
This project gave me the experience of the scale of working with a full orchestra and real people rather than a computer programme in the studio, LOL!
To find the young talent I had to run auditions, which was a bit out of my comfort zone. It wasn't something I was used to doing and the most challenging part was narrowing the numbers down to just seven individuals because there was a lot of talent that came down to audition on the day.
The final seven I chose got to compose a music track with me and the BBC Symphony Orchestra for the BBC Urban Classic Prom.
Shevelle, Sin Seer, Curtis, Sam, Samara, Benji and Vic made up the group, and called themselves 7 Chapters. I chose them because they are all really talented musicians but were also the ones furthest away from the classical world.
Having a film crew around while you’re trying to write lyrics for the final piece is proper uncomfortable.
The young musicians meet members of the BBC Symphony Orchestra
Although the musicians were very talented in their own ways, they all had their own things to deal with, from confidence issues to more personal issues.
At times that made me worry if we were going to be able to pull off the show on the night and deliver - or even make it to the event to actually perform!
My most memorable moment during filming the documentary was when the musicians and I finally came off stage at the Albert Hall gig, when I met their friends and families. The atmosphere and the gratitude from all of them was overwhelming!!!
I once asked a teacher at school what they enjoyed most about their job.
They said to me, when a student passes their exams and says to me, "Thank you for helping me because without you it never would have been possible." I have a very similar feeling, amazed and proud.
Fazer is a rapper, musician and producer and presents Fazer's Urban Takeover.
Fazer's Urban Takeover is on Monday, 16 September at 9pm on BBC Three. For further programme times, please see the episode guide.
Comments made by writers on the BBC TV blog are their own opinions and not necessarily those of the BBC.
