Kid Gospel for 'Skank not Shank' anti-knife crime campaign

A disarming invitation to dance is the latest weapon to be deployed against knife crime as teenage artist Kid Gospel prepares to take to the stage with his message.

The 16-year-old Warren School student will be ­touring a number of schools next week, beginning with his own on Friday morning, to promote an anti-knife crime campaign Skank Don’t Shank.

He has written songs Repping the UK and Skank, Don’t Shank, which is slang for “dance, don’t stab”.

He has also been heard on radio, and featured on satellite ­channel Ben TV.

Kid Gospel, whose real name is Deontae Austin-­Duberry, has been recording his own music since the ­tender age of 13.

He said: “I wrote my first lyrics when I was nine but I was not taking it seriously then. For my 13th birthday my dad took me to a studio. I started to push it forward from there.

“I recorded my first song. “It’s a bit of everything. It’s not really got a genre to it –grime, rap, pop, rock.”

Although he is keen to ­promote the anti-knife ­message, his music is defined by positivity.

The name Kid Gospel – a reference to one of his ­favourite artists Ghetto ­Gospel – reflects his fundamental belief in life.

He said: “According to the dictionary, a gospel is ­something that you believe in.

“I talk about what I believe in – about my experiences.

“There are lots of people in the world, so there have got to people who have gone through the same things.

“But it’s not all about knives – I’m just having fun. I call it pop – the power of positivity.”

For more information and to view his new video visit kidgospel.com.

This article features as part of the Post campaign Choose Your Future.