Top Boy star Ashley Walters says pandemic will spark wave of creativity among young people

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Ashley Walters at the UK premiere of Top Boy in Hackney last year
Dave Benett

Actor and musician Ashley Walters has predicted the pandemic will lead to an explosion of creativity among young people.

The star of the Netflix series Top Boy, 38, said times of adversity usually lead to greater artistic creation, adding he has been making “the best music” of his career in recent months.  

The former So Solid Crew rapper is a judge of the annual Vlogstar Challenge – a unique competition and training initiative run by Media Trust in partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation.

He said he had already seen more creative material online following the lockdown, suggesting 2020 had given people more time to reflect on the content they produce.

The Peckham-born star said: “Everyone has had more time to be on social media and to be on their phones. They have had more time to create. I am already seeing this year reflected in people’s blogs. It will be really interesting to see how lockdown impacts creativity. I am making the best music I have ever made at the moment. Through history you have seen that tough times make people creative.”

Tonight is the Virtual Grand Final of Vlogstar Challenge, which is in partnership with YouTube and the Evening Standard.

The 15 finalists’ vlogs will be reviewed live by a panel of esteemed judges, including Vlogstar Ambassador Walters, where one lucky winner will be crowned the next Vlogstar Challenge 2020 Champion.  

The event will be streamed live on the Vlogstar Challenge YouTube channel from 5pm. Walters said he hoped the competition would help find “the next big thing” of the video blogging industry.

He said of the competition: “It is about creating and pushing talent and giving them information about how to get in the game. It used to be that young people wanted to be pop stars or sports stars, now they want to be YouTubers.

"It’s great, and it is noble to want to elevate yourself and do something with your life. The winners will get exposure to the industry and be able to elevate themselves to that next level and really make a crack and being a vlogger. I hope we find the next big thing.”

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