IAMNEXT

Seshie grew up in Battersea, and from a young age he wanted to work in the music industry. In September 2013, he started The Agency when he was 17. He’s always enjoyed listening to music and recognised there were other local people with talents he wanted to showcase, so he decided to produce. He met people in leadership roles at BAC and saw that they didn’t have to be onstage, but they could still inspire the masses: Kids are inspired by people who actually care about what they do and are generous with their time, showing they have best interests in people they don’t even know. That was key for me. He really impressed the panel with his idea for a music platform showcasing local talent, and IAMNEXT officially launched in March 2014. After Cycle 2 of the project, he then received an additional £5,000 of project funding from the Wandsworth Youth Opportunity Fund. He ran his first large-scale event in July 2014, programming then underground grime artist Stormzy as a headliner. He initially struggled to develop a leadership style, but came to the conclusion that the work is more important in the end. It’s not about ego.

There are a lot of egos in the music industry but he now knows that if you focus on the work and not on personalities, you get farther. Now he’s developed strong enough networks to produce large-scale IAMNEXT events all over London, showcasing some of the UK’s finest underground talent at such prestigious venues as the Roundhouse, Electric Brixton, RichMix, The O2 Kentish Town, The Yard and XOYO. The Agency gave me belief in myself. I joined it when I was young and from a young age knowing that I can do whatever I put my mind to is powerful. I realised that everything I need is actually around me. I just have to look hard and dig deep into myself and believe in what I can do. Being young and being from this area, having something that helps you believe in yourself is important. He has also travelled to do IAMNEXT internationally and has hosted music nights in Stockholm, The Netherlands, Glasgow, Dublin and Paris, as well as at Glastonbury festival 2019. In June 2017, following the Grenfell tower tragedy, he led a fundraiser in a nearby skate park, reaching thousands of lives audiences and making Channel 4 national news

I felt like influencers were just talking about Grenfell, but they don’t do anything with the power they have. I’m not an influencer but I want to do something for a good cause. If you have power, use it for something other than just self-gain

ADVOCACY Presented about his project at “Encounters” at City Hall alongside PPP Interviewed on Brazilian TV Globo (the fifth largest TV channel in the world). Presented at the Houses of Parliament in May 2016, with Andrew Barnett, Director of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and alongside then Minister for Culture, Media and Sport, Ed Vaizey KEY ACHIEVEMENTS: PROJECT RUNNING FROM MARCH 2014 - PRESENT 100,000 LIVE AUDIENCE MEMBERS REACHED 10,794 SUBSCRIBERS TO YOUTUBE CHANNEL 7,000 INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS KEY PARTNERSHIPS WITH DICE, METROPOLIS, DOLLOP DOLLOP AND LIVITY