BLACK BRITISH ARTISTS BRING MUSIC AND MENTAL HEALTH TOGETHER IN GROUND-BREAKING CHANNEL 4 SPECIAL THE WHOLE TRUTH

Chan­nel 4 will mark World Men­tal Health Day with a spe­cial music pro­gramme fea­tur­ing three of Britain’s most cel­eb­rated Black artists: Che LingoArlo Parks and Kojey Rad­ic­al.

The musi­cians will each per­form one of their own tracks, open up to each oth­er about their men­tal health and share some of the per­son­al stor­ies that have inspired them to speak their mind through music.

Musi­cian Jordan Steph­ens, the founder of the men­tal health move­ment #IAM­WHOLE, hosts the pro­gramme, fea­tur­ing intim­ate per­form­ances and can­did dis­cus­sion with the artists. The pro­gramme will give a rare plat­form for the artists to talk openly about men­tal health, music and how they have nav­ig­ated a year marked by pan­dem­ic, pain and protests.

Jordan Steph­ens com­ments: “Our inten­tion is to shed light on men­tal health from the per­spect­ive of cul­tures not often centred in the con­ver­sa­tion. This is not about shov­ing a load of Black faces into a TV spot dur­ing the one gra­cious month of black­ness that our cal­en­dar so kindly offers, just to tick a diversity box. This is about provid­ing space for silenced com­munit­ies.”

This pro­gram­ming for on-air and online will be pro­duced by Spir­it Stu­di­os for Chan­nel 4. Matt Cam­pi­on is exec pro­du­cer for Spir­it Stu­di­os. The pro­gramme is ordered for Chan­nel 4 by Sarah Lazenby, Head of Fea­tures & Formats.

Sarah Lazenby, Head of Fea­tures & Formats, Chan­nel 4 com­ments: “2020 sucks. I defy any­one to have not felt unsettled by the last few months. Speak­ing up and listen­ing to each oth­er has nev­er felt more essen­tial. Jordan and Spir­it Stu­di­os have been high­light­ing the import­ance of open con­ver­sa­tion around men­tal well­being for the last four years through  IAM­WHOLE, and for some time we have been dis­cuss­ing the right concept that could bring The Whole Truth alive on-screen. We’re priv­ileged to have made this ambi­tion a real­ity with Che, Arlo and Kojey – three out­stand­ing artists whose music and words are imbued with pas­sion, pain and poignancy – to mark this unfor­get­table year.”

Matt Cam­pi­on, Spir­it Stu­di­os com­ments: “Our mis­sion has always been to cre­ate con­tent that res­on­ates with young audi­ences and drives change. This show is a big step towards achiev­ing that goal. The Whole Truth is a first of its kind, using music to empower and deliv­er a mes­sage, while tack­ling real life agen­das.”

The Whole Truth will be aired on Chan­nel 4 on Fri­day 9th Octo­ber at 11:05pm and shown across 4Music and Chan­nel 4’s online plat­forms this month.

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Rishma Dhaliwal

Rishma Dhaliwal

Edit­or / PR Con­sult­ant at No Bounds
Rishma Dhali­w­al has extens­ive exper­i­ence study­ing and work­ing in the music and media industry. Hav­ing writ­ten a thes­is on how Hip Hop acts as a social move­ment, she has spent years research­ing and con­nect­ing with artists who use the art form as a tool for bring­ing a voice to the voice­less. Cur­rently work­ing in TV, Rishma brings her PR and media know­ledge to I am Hip Hop and oth­er pro­jects by No Bounds.

About Rishma Dhaliwal

Rishma Dhaliwal
Rishma Dhaliwal has extensive experience studying and working in the music and media industry. Having written a thesis on how Hip Hop acts as a social movement, she has spent years researching and connecting with artists who use the art form as a tool for bringing a voice to the voiceless. Currently working in TV, Rishma brings her PR and media knowledge to I am Hip Hop and other projects by No Bounds.