Mr Gee is a Poet, inspirational speaker, entrepreneur, and much more. Perhaps best known as the poet laureate on The Russell Brand Radio Show.
However, behind the scenes he’s been giving workshops in schools, prisons, and community centres for over ten years, teaching young black men to channel their anger into art rather than violence.
“What I’ve noticed in prison is there are guys who have just got too much buzzing around in their heads, and if there’s no constructive outlet for that there’ll be a destructive outlet.”
“Bounce Back is a great charity that take young men who have come out of prison or are in danger of going in, and they try to get them into the construction industry.”
“When someone has been inside, they have been robbed of any choice. The plate is always blue. So, to come out and then be faced with a lot of choice becomes daunting. It’s understanding that which is the key.”
“The system is fucked. In a system where the amount of unskilled jobs is declining, telling folks to go out there and be the best you can be ‘blah blah blah’ when the bills don’t change and the rent don’t change, the idea of quick money is very attractive to people.”
“A lot of life is attitude and how you perceive things. Especially with men, dealing with emotions is not allowed… we just need a safe place to exhibit emotions. I think men are very emotional, but our emotions overwhelm us.”
I “use art and observation to get people that have never ever had any value in their own lives, or seen any value in their own lives, to realise, wow: this story is about me.”
We need to tell people “that it’s not a case of you having an idea that’s going to change the world, it’s the fact that every idea you have changes your world.”
“Just because it doesn’t get eighty million hits on YouTube, who gives a shit? If you can change your world – isn’t that what you’re in this game for?”
