“To be honest with you, before I got involved with this I didn’t even know what the census was. I rang my Mum and was saying ‘Mum, what’s the census? Are you filling out the census form?’”
These are the words of 26 year old Justin Clark, aka Ghetts, emcee and now social campaigner. Yep, that’s right. For his latest track, Invisible, Ghetts has swapped the Roads for the soap box and trying to encourage ethnic minorities to take part in the 2011 census.
The hope is that if more people from ethnic minority backgrounds take part in the census, then the government will be able to give different communities the things that they need.
So, just what would influence an East End bad boy to delve into the formidable field of politics? Well Ghetts undoubtedly has the life experiences to concern him with government relations. Earlier in his life he spent time in and out of jail which eventually helped him focus and develop his musical signature.
“I never cared about music before I went to prison, I mean I was a fan of music, but I only started writing when I had time on my hands.” But even though he has appeared on conscious tracks before (such as the remix of Bashy’s ‘Black Boys’), Invisible isn’t the same Ghetts we’re used to hearing.
“I just wanted to do something positive and I am conscious that as an artist you can get pigeon holed. The tune, Invisible, is how I felt that day; I could actually write about the subject matter, put my mind to it and get my point across.”
Invisible definitely sends out the message clearly and makes an impact, as does the video “I didn’t want to be in the video that much, it’s not about me and we need to get this message across”. He certainly wants to make a difference and wants people to get the idea.
However not everyone trusts the government and even Ghetts understands that. “I’ve been over this in my mind about 1000 times. Like ‘the government? What do they want my details for?’ But realistically if it’s for a better cause then why not?
"I’ve always said things like ‘Ah the government don’t care about us man.’ But if you’d asked me ‘Well, what have you done?’ then I can’t say anything. Us as young men; we’ve never put them to the test! So this is my thing, I am putting the government to the test now, I’m helping them get information and I want to see a change!”
This has been an unexpected journey and Ghetts has definitely surprised us. But nevertheless we salute you Ghetts! We agree with Ghetts and still think that you should be filling out the census forms. Just imagine if it really will help the government to create more schools, jobs and hospitals, then how much good will it do?
Anyway if people don’t fill out the form they will be issued a fine and I don’t know about you but I certainly don’t want to be losing pennies out of my pockets. So just as Ghetts is saying why don’t you put the government to the test, find out about the census and fill out the form. What harm can it do?
About this story
This article was produced by Ambia Tasneem Ali, 15, Arron Martin, 15, and Reema Begum, 15.
