Giving a Voice to Britain’s Black past
SINGER, rapper, songwriter, record producer and talent show judge, American will.i.am is also an engaging guide in this exploration of Black Britain.
He’s well known for his turn of phrase – he tells Liverpool’s first black female Lord Mayor that she’s rocking her “hip hop chain” and says Britain is “super magical… but not in a Harry Potter way”.
Thanks to his success with the Black Eyed Peas and as a coach on The Voice, will has spent a lot of time here over the last 20 years, but wants to know more about what it means to be Black and British.
“Do Black Brits have the same hurdles as Black Americans? I don’t know,” he says.
He wants to spend time exploring the things that mean the most to him – history, civil rights, inner city and music.
He begins “in the place that hurts the most” – the past, explaining that his name William Adams, with a “white surname” means that his ancestors were probably someone’s property.
He visits the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool,
after which he says: “I love this country but damn, it participated in some wickedness.”
Having grown up in the projects in LA, will wants to explore inner city life and heads to Peckham, London, to talk to some young people involved in music.
He also meets civil rights heroes, some inspiring schoolchildren and some trailblazers in tech.
It’s a fascinating look back at the heartbreak of the past, the struggles of the present day and hopes for the future. He says: “Instead of knocking down doors, we need to build new doors.”