Jordan Stephens, part of the now re-united duo Rizzle Kicks, has been named the winner of the Youth Music Awards’ first ever Grassroots Hero Award.
The Grassroots Hero Award recognises an outstanding individual who has advocated for young people and supported the grassroots music scene.
On collecting the first-ever Grassroots Hero Award on October 16, Jordan said: “Winning this award means the world to me because I wouldn’t be here without Youth Music and that is not an exaggeration.
“I am a big supporter of everything they do to encourage creativity. I love them, I’m overwhelmed!”
The awards celebrate the trailblazing entrepreneurs, grassroots projects and young leaders from across the scene.
The chart-topping duo Rizzle Kicks, consisting of Jordan Stephens and Harley Alexander-Sule, announced a reunion on August 14 after nearly a decade hiatus.
Jordan and Harley initially met in London when they were only four years old, they had lost contact when Jordan moved to Brighton where he attended Blatchington Mill School in Hove.
They then bonded over their love for music at the Brighton-based Hip Hop Foundation project at AudioActive. They formed Rizzle Kicks in 2008.
The duo featured on Heart Skips a Beat, the number one song by Olly Murs. Their song Down With the Trumpets got to number 8, staying in the charts for 41 weeks.
They had five top 10 singles and two top 10 albums on the UK Albums Chart.
They had an entry into the US Billboard Heatseekers Albums charts at number 24.
Since the re-union announcement they have released two singles, Javelin which released in August and Gumdrops which released earlier this month. They have also announced that an album is on the way.
Youth Music is in its 25th year of celebrating the work that has been done to equalise access to making, learning, and earning in music, whilst campaigning for a more diverse and inclusive industry.
A spokesman for Youth Music said:” We’re the UK’s leading young people’s music charity. And we believe that every young person should have the chance to make, learn and earn in music and wider creativity.”
