It's 200 years since the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed, and to mark the event BBC South has recorded a version of the classic hymn, Amazing Grace. One of the singers featuring on the track is Aaron Soul. Based in Southampton, the singer songwriter appeared on Sally Taylor's weekend BBC Radio Solent programme to explain what his contribution means to him. Says Aaron, 26, "I feel proud and honoured to be asked to do this. I know what it means to me and what it means to my family, and it means a lot.  | | Aaron Soul with Sally Taylor |
"My relations, like my Granpa and his fathers before that, were cane cutters and that's how they started singing. They were singing as they cut the cane, and then they formed a choir". Important to remember"I think it's important to remember what happened, and it's also a good time to summarise where we're at, and also to look towards the future". Aaron, who went to Bellemoor school in Southampton, was drawn into music through his mother. "My mum used to sing in a reggae group called Brown Sugar, and all the time I used to listen to them practising, and trying to mimic them. Then I kind of grew out of it a little bit, and wanted to play football more. Choir"Then my mum joined the church and she's like, 'You should come to church'. And when I heard the choir, I realised it was something I wanted to get involved in.  | | Aaron Soul with musicians |
"Then I moved to Southampton, met Craig David, and we started writing songs together, and it started from there." As well as showing off his amazing voice with an acapella version of Amazing Grace, Aaron performs another track, called Moments. AlbumAs well as performing live, Aaron's just shot the video for a forthcoming single, Take A Ride - due later in the year - and has also been working in a Southampton studio - Untapped Talent - writing and recording, and putting together tracks for an album. | 
