A young British rapper is making headlines across Europe for tackling a subect often ignored. Alcoholism is fast becoming one of the biggest problems facing the world today. . London musician, Redzz, thinks the governments of some of the world’s biggest countries are not doing enough to tackle an issue that is ruining the future of not only adults but several young people. He said : ‘The governments levy on cheap drinks are only part of the problem, and a focus solely on making alcohol less affordable would risk driving more people to buying potentially dangerous drinks on the black market.’
The musician (Redzz) himself a victim of alcoholism recounts a story of his close friend almost dying from alcohol serving as an eye opener to the gravity of the abuse that can occur. He is rallying the music industry together and a few notables in education, sports, television, and entertainment industry to launch a campaign called ‘I’m An Alcoholic’ with the aim of preventing alcohol abuse amongst young adults. Earlier this month, he recorded a follow up single to his previous hit with chart topping artist Sway. The self-titled single ‘I’m An Alcoholic’ which is penned to support this campaign included a commissioned heartfelt video that lays bare the dangers of alcohol and depicts a true story. An official launch of the campaign into schools to empower kids nationwide about the dangers of alcohol is already planned for September.
The single ‘ I’m an Alcoholic’ is about a guy called Del. So, we caught up with Redzz to find out more;
Who is Del? Del is an ordinary guy who I met in Leytonstone, East London through a friend of mine who lived nearby. My friend was taking him some food his mum made as he didn’t have much money because any little he had he spent it on alcohol and food for his cat, named Smokey.
A frail looking guy with reading glasses opened the door to his one bedroom flat to greet us with a welcoming smile on his face. When I entered I found myself directly in his front room, the smell of cigarettes engulfed the room which made it hard to breathe, I instantly noticed that he didn’t have much furniture just a TV, an old beat up sofa and a couple of boxes used as a coffee table. On top of his coffee table he had an ashtray made from a Sardine can and beside his leg where he sat was a bottle of Cider.
It’s easy to see all of this and make assumptions of one’s character and how they might’ve ended up in the situations they find themselves in, but I was just intrigued by Del and wanted to get to know him properly and find out his story.
So it began to be a weekly occurrence of taking Del over some food, etc to make sure he was OK, I slowly began to hear parts of his story, although most of the time he was intoxicated. He told me that he used to be a Chef but lost his job due to his problems with alcohol, he also had two kids and a wife who left him although he never told me the exact reasons why but I guessed it was because of the same thing.
He brought out a photo album half full with old pictures and showed me some pics of his kids and ex wife, etc. He always mentioned with passion that one day they will come back “home” and he even looked to his Cat Smokey for insurance saying things like “They’ll come back, won’t they Smokey?”
I remember one time when he answered his door and had a black eye, he obviously had been punched. I asked him what had happened; he briefly explained that he missed some sort of important appointment about his benefits so he got a local guy to hit him in the face so he had a good enough excuse.
With over 100,000 views on YouTube after it was released in less than 24 hours and an entry into the Official International Independent Charts. It is clear to see that there is definitely a demand for much greater light on solutions to this problem.
I’m An Alcoholic by Redzz is due for release on the 26th of July 2012
Watch the video ‘I Am an Alcoholic’ by Redzz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju7MqNZruw8
Follow Redzz on Twitter: @itsredzz
