HKD MAGAZINE by HarpreetDawett

H K D MAGAZiNE

Straight outta Coventry

ISSUE 2 FREE

Tweet your pictures with H K D MAGAZiNE at #HKDMAGAZINE

Behind H K D MAGAZiNE My name is Harpreet Kaur Dawett. I am a freelance journalist/blogger/photographer and all round media lover! I go by the name HKD Media. After the success of Issue 1, I am pleased to bring you Issue 2! I had the pleasure of interviewing local comedian FunnyFrancis as the main feature and also wanted to share with you some of my recent photography! I was born in London but moved to Coventry at a very young age, I went to school here and even did my degree in Journalism and Media at Coventry University. Over this past year I have discovered some great creative talent within this city. You could say I have a lot of hope and passion for Coventry and wanted to create a platform where I could show my work, as well as showing what young Coventry creatives have to offer to the rest of the world - that is my reason for producing this magazine. The designing of this magazine and all images/interviews are done by me unless stated. I hope you enjoy the read! Follow me: Instagram @hkd_media Twitter @HDawett Blog www.hkdmedia.wordpress.com

CONTENTS 6-7 Doodling is a for of therapy for Spudragon 8-11 Introducing Funny Francis and JBK Films 12-21 Photography from Barcelona with model and dancer, Oweezy 22-23 Coventryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Culture Column 26-27 Trapped Magazine Clothing 28-33 EXCLUSIVE / Headline Entertainment presents Yungen and Abra Cadabra 34-39 Introducing Coventry girls, Sibby and Sophia

DOODLING IS A FORM OF TH Spudragon is an ‘accidental’ artist from Coventry. With his quirky and unique drawings, the artist uses doodling as a form of healing and wants to help and inspire others. The artist started doodling at an early age to pass time. It wasn’t until he suffered badly with spinal pains that Spudragon realised drawing was a great escape from the physical and emotional pain. After suffering a heart attack at the age of 31, resulting in a few mental health issues including anxiety and depression. Spudragon said, “Art therapy saved me - It’s a very powerful coping mechanism, which is where I now get my inspiration from to inspire and help others overcome.” Spudragon is also a full-time dad, he says: “My talents as an artist help me to top up my sense of achievement in life. I’m in the process of having an open gallery and workshop studio to be able to showcase my talent and help inspire a generation of artists. I want to make Coventry colourful and vibrant, with communities coming together and achieving something great and iconic for our city.” Follow @spudragon on Instagram to view more images and how to purchase his artwork.

Photography by Adam Goss

HERAPY FOR

Spudragon

FOLLOW: Instagram: @spudragon

INTRODUCING F UNNY

FunnyFrancis is a comedian from Coventry who works alongside JBK Films.

The duo aim to bring an educational vibe to comedy and walk the streets of Coventry testing the public with trick questions for their YouTube channel. Introduce yourself - who are you? J - So, my name’s Justice, from JBK Films. F - Well, obviously boom now, my name’s Moses Francis, local comedian. I run a YouTube Channel called FunnyFrancis Entertainment. How did this all start? F - Let me drop the story, well basically, I met my colleague Justice at Badminton. We do a ‘No Strings Attached’ badminton in Coventry City Centre. I wanted to try something different and I thought comedy would be a good catch - people say I have that natural sharpness with the jokes. J - This guy can freestyle haha. F - I met with Justice and we brainstormed some ideas. This was late January, early February this year. J - We had a long talk about anything we could possibly do and use to our advantage to try and blow up as quickly as possible and then I was like, let me bring out this one idea and see if you can do this. F - He had an idea that was collecting dust, this was a comedy YouTube channel and we called it ‘What’s the Answer?’ F - We tried the first episode in Coventry, because no one had ever seen anything like that. You see this kind of comedy in London or other major cities, but not Coventry. The first episode reached 40k views in a couple of days. It went viral. Why are you different to other comedians? J - We tried to come up with our own original style on the way we do things, we don’t want to clown people too much. F - A lot of comedians try to disrespect the public like “shout out to your ex” or “bait out your ex” and me and Justice thought we need to do something entertaining, but also educational. We also have the uniform now haha! The hat, the unique blue tie, sometimes we go for bomber jacket, sometimes we go for just the shirt. We also have the

shorts and the eccentric blue or yellow trainers. To stand out and show we are from Coventry we had to do something that could distinguish us y’know. J - Yes, and he’s very distinguishable, they can spot him from a mile away. People are like “oh you’re that guy” and they would shout ‘boom!’ F - I had to invent a catchphrase that would be really catchy, so ‘ite now boom’! Do you get approached a lot then? J - A lot yes! We were on our way to shoot in Warwick and FunnyFrancis was eating some food and a fan spotted him in the middle of him taking his bite! F - It was so funny! Now I know what it’s like to be famous haha! What was your inspiration to start this? J - The Internet, I’ve grown up with Youtube around me and I use to watch a lot of people on it. It started giving me ideas to create this. F - Well, I woke up one day and thought, hey, a lot of people find me funny - let me try out this acting course and it went from there. Who is your favourite comedian? J – Melvin Greg to me is funny! F – Definitely Chris Rock! Do you ever get any hate? J – We get the odd one or two that are not included in the video that get a bit pissy haha! We can’t include everyone sometimes (please put that in bold). F – We try not to give a reason for people to dislike us! We want people to go away smiling. Do you think Coventry is a good starting base for media channels like yours? F – This is something I highly believe in, you should conquer places that have never been conquered before. If we were in London we would have been drowned out by other comedians – we would have Turn page over...

F R A NCI S and JB K F ILMS

just been any average Joe amongst the hundreds of YouTubers in London. J – I’ve been assessing how Coventry has developed and we noticed a lot of students are coming to this city. I thought you know what, lets take advantage of this moment in time with all these students coming through and shoot our episodes here. What is your end goal? Future plans? F – We can’t say too much! J – We’re heading towards something. We’ve been working with Coventry University and shot with Lotto Boyz. You’ll see some big big things coming up – this is just the tip of the iceberg.

FOLLOW: Twitter: @funnyfrancis15 Facebook: JBK Films YouTube: Funny Francis Entertainment

Photography in Barcelona

On my travels to Barcelona, Spain I had the opportunity to meet up with Professional Dancer and Model Oscar aka @oweezy_ge. Oscar wears Nike, Asos, Polo Ralph Lauren, Urban Outfitters and 9FIVE Eyewear. For any photoshoots, contact hkdmedia@hotmail.com.

Model: @oweezy_ge

Coventry’s Culture

Cherelle Harding (28)

Lead singer, youth worker, advocate, passionate gardener, traveller and Vegan.

‘’Being an artist in the city, I think it’s important to bring the next generation through. I ask myself questions such as how can what I do I help those that are looking to do the same thing?’’ Born and raised in Coventry, Cherelle Charmaine Harding aka as Chezzard is the lead singer of the band Barbwire. Their genre is an an amalgamation of the deepest darkest roots of reggae, blistering SKA and blue beats. Barbwire promote positive vibes that uplift and make way for social change, conciseness and confidence. One of Cherelle’s greatest lessons in life have come from Reggae and she adds: ‘’Music has almost been like a teacher to me and had has definitely left an imprint on me and I try and implement these teachings within every aspect of my life’’. The movements of the great historian Marcus Garvey have had a huge impact on Cherelle’s outlook on life too. He once said ‘If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life. With this Cherelle is hoping to set up a girl’s confidence academy that raises self-esteem, removes barriers to achievement and creates well rounded young women that can take on any obstacle that life throws at them. Black consciousness is also a factor that is very close to Cherelle’s heart and she co-founded the Black Conscious Coventry (BCC) aimed to educate, motivate, unite and raise the consciousness of the African and Caribbean community within Coventry. BCC have had regular events that have attracted people not only from the city but worldwide. BCC truly bring communities together with an empowering messages of unity and a celebration of all the great that has come straight out of Africa to our lives. Besides the arts and advocacy, Cherelle is a full time youth worker helping young people from all different walks of life. There are big hopes for Coventry in the future and Cherelle feels it’s a force to be reckoned with and there is not denying this now as we are the city of culture 2021. With all that Cherelle juggles to contribute to her local and vast community it is sure to say that she is an outstanding, driven and a very positive role model to people in the city. Watch this space. Massive big up to you sistah! Reena Jaisiah – Arts & Culture Columnist @casteawayarts

Follow Reena on Instagram: @bubbleburst_pop

Column

Image credited to Nelson Douglas

@barbdwirecov @blkconsciouscov

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Images credited to Nicholas Sandzi / Instagram: @Nicholas_sandzi

EXCL USI VE

HEAD/LINE Entertainment pres x Abra Cadab

HEAD/INE Entertainment is a brand dedicated to bringing live music to a venue near you! Co-founder, Anita Piasecka, 21, from Coventry, UK has been working hard on building her business in event management. With British rap duo, Krept and Konan often supporting the brand, HEAD/ine Entertainment secured a successful event in Brighton, which saw the crowd vibing to UK artists Yungen and Abra Cadabra, alongside DJ Kazz from Leicester, UK and actor Nathan Hector who took the stage to host the night! Follow www.headlineent.co.uk for upcoming events.

sents Yungen bra

INTRODUCING COVENTRY GIRLS Sibby and Sophia

Sibby and Sophia are two individual music artists from Coventry. They are part of Positive Youth Foundation, a non-profit organisation who specialise in helping and giving opportunities to young people across Coventry. Both Sibby and Sophia hope their music can one day be heard across the UK (or world). 2018 being the Year of Women empowerment, both females are determined to stand out from the crowd. Tell me about yourself? My name is Sophia, also known as phia. I’m 18 years old and currently doing my A-Levels. I’m also a singer/musician. How did you get into singing? I don’t remember ever not singing. I probably sang before I could even speak (haha!). I grew up going to church and singing in my church choir and plays at school. It’s always been a passion for me. What kind of genre/style is your music? I would probably say Neo Soul or RNB. What shows have you done? I feel like I’ve done a lot of little performances, like open mics and supporting other people’s gigs. Last November I did a really big show to a couple of thousand people at Warwick Arts Centre called the ‘Electric Proms’ - that was probably the biggest thing I’ve ever done. I performed at The Shard and Coventry’s Godiva Festival, so a lot of little things. You’re part of Positive Youth Foundation, how have they helped your career in singing? I became part of PYF through the dance academy because I dance a little too! I just sang one day and Susie (PYF Development Manager) heard me one day and got me to come to an open mic and the rest is history! Which artist inspires you and why? This is so difficult for me! I feel like I draw inspiration from so many different places. I really love Frank Ocean – he’s so special to me. He does it right. When I was growing up I use to always listen to Alicia Keys and Beyonce. At the moment I’m also really into IAMDDB and Jorja Smith. Has your city Coventry, helped your progress as a singer? Yes! At first I didn’t see Coventry as a creative place until I started meeting other creative people through Positive Youth Foundation. There’s so much talent here and there are opportunities here! If you could, who would you love to collaborate with? Pharrell! Because he’s just a genius, everything he touches is just magic! What are your future goals? I would like to pursue my career in music. If I could snap my fingers right now I would be a musician but not a huge musician, someone lowkey. Sort of like Jorja Smith! I’d like to release more of my own music and I’ll be doing some shows so please follow my socials to stay connected!

Turn page over...

Image: Sophia

Image: Sibby

Please introduce yourself? My name is Sibby, I’m 19 years old and currently at university studying Media and Communications. I’m also a musician/creative/artist/ good person/your best friend. How did you get into singing? I just love poetry and words in general. Words fascinate me so much! I use to do a lot of rap because that was the easiest transition from doing poetry. One day my brother was just like ‘stop rapping’ haha! So I started singing. What is your genre/style? That’s really hard because I feel like I’m offending genres if I classify myself as them. I’m not even sure what I do half the time! It’s a new genre – I don’t know what to call it yet, when I find a word for it I’ll name it! Do you write your own music? Yes, I always write my own music! I write about emotions, I put it all on paper. What shows have you performed at so far? I did a lot! I’ve done Godiva Festival and Boudica Festival but the biggest so far was definitely Electric Proms in Warwick, we had a full cast orchestra, which was super cool! Wherever I am needed, I flutter! Like Sophia, you’re part of Positive Youth Foundation. How have they helped you? One day you just find yourself as part of them, I don’t even remember how it happened! PYF have pushed me to the next level, they don’t want you stay in one place and give you opportunities. For example, we will be performing at an international women’s event where the CEO of all BBC radios will be there! Who inspires you and why? Oh there is too many! As you grow older and your music develops there are certain artists that help you get to a certain stage. My husband and forever will be, Joey Badass. Even though he helps me when I was rapping, he still helps me with my lyrics now. Female wise - Erykah Badu and Floetry. If you could collaborate with one person, who would it be? I’m going to say Joey Badass, so I can trap him in marriage haha! Also Erykah Badu and Pharrell – so many! What is your future goal? The goal is music! Even if it’s not being big like Beyonce, I don’t care for that. I just want my own people, which I can vibe with. If I can buy 15 cars, that’s cool! But that’s not my aim. My aim is to make music and the money is just a side effect, which I would appreciate. Check out my music here: www.soundcloud.com/sibby_m

FOLLOW: Instagram: @sibby_tho Instagram: @sophiaaceleste

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