Tales of the Hood by T K Williams-Nelson Page A

make it on time so with my last tenner I paid for a cab to drop me there. I couldn’t mess this up. It was my only chance to start making legal money and making something of myself. In the car I was desperately thinking of what I should say but then I told myself to relax and worry about it when I got there. The key to pulling off a short notice performance is knowing how to adapt and improvise in any context, just in case things didn’t go to plan. Surprisingly I wasn’t nervous but I didn’t want to get too cocky; anything could happen.
    The car pulled up in front of the centre and that’s when I started to feel a bit funny. This was actually my chance to reform. Change for the better, for my mother, Maurice and my new family; a chance to finally put my bleak past behind me. I got out and entered the centre confidently. There were quite a lot of people there, which kind of made me feel better. We had to wait until our name was called to know when to go into the room with the decision makers. I took a seat and watched people walk in and out of the room for the next hour. Some were crying; others were smiling. I didn’t know what to expect but I had no time to think as suddenly my name was called. I stood up and opened the room door, trying to appear alert and ready to take on one of the biggest challenges of my life. I know it was only music but music is what makes me. There was a long table with judges sitting behind it. They asked for my letter and told me to take a seat.
    â€œHello Jayden, my name is Melanie and I’ll be judging your audition today alongside my colleagues here. How are you today?” she asked respectfully.
    â€œI’m cool, what about you guys?” I said, trying to sound somewhat decent. They frowned at my informal speech but that was something I couldn’t change. I was raised in an environment where it had already been integrated in my vocabulary. It didn’t affect the way I was able to produce good music.
    â€œWe’re fine, thank you. Now let’s begin. What makes you want to be an artist?” she asked generally.
    â€œWell being raised in London, I had a difficult upbringing. My dad left me at the age of five and my mum was killed when I was eighteen. These streets are corrupting the youths of today’s generation and maybe through music I could provide some sort of positive influence. We’re like the walking dead. We have no knowledge of ourselves because we try to be people we’re not. I know me getting involved in music wouldn’t make a big change but It’s a start. I want to be able to inspire other young people to see that the roads don’t have to dominate their lives. They can channel their energy into something their good at,” I said proudly.
    Just looking at the faces in front of me showed me that they were touched by my speech. I tried to be as formal as I could and it seemed to work. “Well Jayden, at this moment in time I’m speechless. We understand your reasons for being interested in this subject and we have been profoundly affected by your story. Would you now like to give us a sample of your work? Take your time, there’s no rush,” said Melanie, before conferring with her fellow judges.
    I took out my phone and played a beat. It was the only resource I had in this music thing and it had been good to me. I felt nervous but when I realised that the bars I was going to say weren’t lies, that they were the truth from deep within, I had nothing to worry about. I had to give it my best shot; for Vanessa and Shakira. They were my main priority in life now and getting this contract would mean a fresh start for all of us. I gave them a demo of a piece I wrote a short while after Donny died. That was when I knew I had to get out of this gang life. I was tired of death following me everywhere I went and that was the driving force behind my passion to succeed. When I finished there was a