''Shiro's Story'' is a three-part
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
series, written, directed and narrated through the medium of
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
by
Rapman
Andrew Onwubolu , (born 6 June 1989), better known by his stage name Rapman, is a British rapper, record producer, screenwriter and film director. He is known for dealing socially conscious themes, as well as his uniquely vivid style of storytel ...
. It stars
Joivan Wade
Joivan Wade ( ; born 23 July 1993) is an English actor known for playing Manyou in the BBC comedy television series '' Big School'', Jordan Johnson on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', and Cyborg (comics), Victor Stone/Cyborg in the HBO Max se ...
as Shiro,
Percelle Ascott
Percelle Ascott (born 10 June 1993) is a Zimbabwean-English actor and writer. He is known for his roles in the CBBC series ''Wizards vs Aliens'' (2012–2014) and the Netflix series '' The Innocents'' (2018). As a trio, Ascott collaborated with ...
as his best friend, Kyle, and has appearances from
Konan,
Deno,
Ashley Walters Ashley Walters may refer to:
* Ashley Walters (actor) (born 1982), English rapper and actor
* Ashley Walters (artist) (born 1983), South African artist
{{Hndis, Walters, Ashley ...
,
Headie One
Irving Ampofo Adjei (born 6 October 1994), known professionally as Headie One (formerly Headz), is a British rapper and singer. In 2018 he released his second solo mixtape, titled ‘''The One’'', which included the single "Know Better" featur ...
,
Not3s
Lukman Olanrewaju Odunaike (born 17 April 1998), better known by his stage name Not3s (pronounced Notes), is a British singer-songwriter, rapper and actor from Hackney, London. His songs include "My Lover" and "Fine Line", both of which are colla ...
and
Cadet
A cadet is an officer trainee or candidate. The term is frequently used to refer to those training to become an officer in the military, often a person who is a junior trainee. Its meaning may vary between countries which can include youths in ...
. Themes of betrayal, love and
London gang
Gang-related organised crime in the United Kingdom is concentrated around the cities of London, Manchester and Liverpool and regionally across the West Midlands region, south coast and northern England, according to the Serious Organised Crime A ...
rivalry play throughout, but there is no glamorisation of violence.
The series was shot
guerrilla-style on a budget of £3,000 and had been seen 7.2 million times as of early November 2019. The series as a whole has a run time of 45 minutes. Part 2 of the series won
GRM Daily
GRM Daily (Grime & Rap Music Daily), formerly Grime Daily, is a British urban music outlet and entertainment platform. As the name suggests, the platform is an outlet for UK rap and its various genres, such as UK drill, afroswing, trap, and Briti ...
's Video of the Year award in 2018.
Rapman subsequently signed a contract with
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
and
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...
's
ROC Nation
Roc Nation is an entertainment agency founded by Jay-Z in 2008. The company is headquartered in Manhattan and has additional offices in Los Angeles and London. Roc Nation comprises a comprehensive talent agency, sports agency, record label, mana ...
, and in late 2018,
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
and
BBC Films
BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Part ...
bought the rights for his
feature film
A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
''
Blue Story
''Blue Story'' is a 2019 British musical crime drama film written, directed, and narrated by Rapman (Andrew Onwubolu) through the medium of rap and starring Stephen Odubola and Micheal Ward, with Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Khali Best, Karla-Simone Spence ...
''.
Episodes
Behind the scenes episode 1-4
See also
*
Blue Story
''Blue Story'' is a 2019 British musical crime drama film written, directed, and narrated by Rapman (Andrew Onwubolu) through the medium of rap and starring Stephen Odubola and Micheal Ward, with Eric Kofi-Abrefa, Khali Best, Karla-Simone Spence ...
*
The Essence
''Wamp 2 Dem'' is a commercial mixtape by English rapper Giggs. It was released on 6 October 2017 by No BS Music, while the mixtape was distributed by Island Records. It succeeds Giggs' fourth album ''Landlord'' (2016), released a year and t ...
References
{{Reflist
YouTube original programming
British drama web series