Labrinth sings Vultures LIVE at Cardiff Student Union Solus

Up close and personal with the "King of Hearts" Lloyd

Prior to his performance in Cardiff (UK) at ‘Glam Nightclub’, Lloyd known for his recent top ten hit single; “Dedicated To My Ex” took much coveted time out of his European single release tour for, “Do it Again” to sit down and have a discussion with, the ‘Radio Cardiff Young Carers Show’ about his childhood and teenage years prior to his solo career launch in 2001.

Crossroads Care for Young Carers and Radio Cardiff collaborated in an effort to train young people under the age of 25 who care for a loved one living with an addiction, disability or long term medical illness.  This was a 5 week course including Introduction to Radio, Radio Scriptwriting, Broadcasting, Interviewing Skills and Production.

Crossroads Care for Young Carers is a registered charity that offers support to young people under the age of 25 in order for them to alleviate the stressors involved in their adult responsoibilities as carers, giving them the opportunity to socialize with their peers who they have a common understanding with, as often there is no one they can talk or relate to about their home life or concerns as a carer.

Radio Cardiff ; is a Black Minority Ethnic community radio station, which allows groups or individuals to broadcast their diverse stories to its local, and international audiences by sharing their experiences through music of black origin.

Two out of the five young carers training at Radio Cardiff, Becki and Christopher, have since secured a slot on the Saturday Morning ‘Youth Beats’ show with fellow young DJ’s, Broadcast Journalists, Producers and Presenters all under the age of 18.

Lloyd warmly greeted the young carer’s, making them feel at ease, they explained their roles as young carers to Lloyd, and he listened intently, looking quite interested in what their roles entail.  Becki cares for her twin brother who lives with Autism, and Christopher cares for a parent who has Fibromyalgia and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Lloyd instantly sympathised with both Becki and Christopher, he is all too familiar with the vital role a carer has to play in a loved ones life, as his mother has also been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia.  He goes on to state how he “always” recommends healthy eating to his Mum and referred to Fibromyalgia as being the “Phantom Disease”.

We were then invited to sit down as the interview commenced.

Q: “I’m here with Lloyd it’s good to meet you thank you for having us here...”

A: “Thank you for having me!”

Q: “When you were a teenager did you know you were going to be someone one day?”

A: “Of course! Every kid has that feeling, I think the difference for me than alot of other kids was having people around me, who helped facilitate my ideas and my parents were always more encouraging than less.  I think my Mom she always allowed me to be active during the summers, when I was outta school rather it be my love of sports, at one point I wanted to be Michael Jordan, and then I got into music really heavy, I used to do a theatre programme with my older sister, and I just think from there you know the most important thing that I took from my summers in theatre were, I was ridden of fearness and I just think fear is one of the larger hinderances when it comes to success or happiness...”

Q: “How did you get to meet Lil Wayne?”

A: “Ok let me go back in the archives here, uh I was 15, 16 years old recording music in Memphis Tennessee, out of the music I recorded it was about three songs and one of the songs was called, ‘Trance’.  About two years later, I would release this song on my first solo album “Southside”, but way before even releasing an album I was just recording music and one of the songs was something that I wanted to feature a rapper on for the first time, I never ever had a feature.  I got some mutual friends to reach out to Wayne for me, and we happened to be recording in the same studio so he sent someone to my room, I grabbed the music brought it down to his room, shook his hand, talked about the ‘Saints’ versus the ‘Falcons’ which was that week it’s a huge American Football rivalry, New Orleans versus Atlanta, and from there that’s how we started working; and then uh we would hang out through the years and stuff like that!”

Q: “Growing up as a teenager in New Orleans how did you manage to stay grounded?”

A: “number one I was smart, two nothing in the world would give me the same satisfaction that I get from what I do, being too busy, being distracted from destruction was a big part of it.”

Q: “What is the first thing you bought when you made it big?”

A: “The first thing I bought was a car, this really old nasty dirt bag of a motor vehicle, it only had one door that opened, uh I didn’t have a window roller, I had to use some grip pliers to roll the window down, the rear view mirror on the side wouldn’t stay up on it’s own so I had to fold up a piece of newspaper and put it underneath the mirror to set it just so right, um the power steering went out, and it literally felt like you were lifting weights trying to make turns and I put the most top notch sound system in there that was my first you know spenditure.”

Q: “Was ‘Dedication To My Ex’ based on anyone in particular?”

A: “Sure was!”

[We laugh at this point as previously we had discussed how foolish Lloyds ex may have felt when hearing this song, Lloyd smiles.]

Q: “Has there ever been anyone you have had to care for because they were too ill to care for themselves?”

A: [Lloyd takes a moment before answering] “no not personally no, but I have friends who have done so!”

Q: “Did you keep a lock of your hair when you cut off your braids?”

A: [Lloyds shakes his head] “no I gave it all away, I sent it off to a charity, I cut it and gave it tokids with cancer, who lose their hair to chemotherapy, when they have all these insecurities about going out in public they just wanna wear hats and stuff but they wanna feel regular. I think you know it’s one thing to live a certain way and bring something upon yourself knowingly, we as humans sometimes we’re a bit destructive, it’s just our nature, buts it’s another thing for an innocent to be bestowed with a heavy burden like cancer or something like that so I just wanted to do something that was for them.”

Q: You’re always on the go you’ve just come from London to Wales, then you will head to Berlin, how do you find the energy to keep doing what you do, do you have a special diet intake or a favourite food?

A: “Fruit grapes, I really have a weakness for grapes [Lloyds laughs] me and my Grandpa used to steal a grape go and chomp on em for a while, I bet some poor old lady used to wonder what had happened to em when she would by em... I think it’s a mixture between that and just the natural joy that you feel in doing something natural that you love, it never really takes a real toll because even when it’s the hardest that it may ever be it’s still enjoyable and you can find joy in the hardest of times!”

 

Q: “Do you cook and what do you like to make to eat?”

A: “I make peanut butter and jelly, [Lloyd grins] I’m talking about world class grape jelly!”

Q: “Does you Mum still make you wash dishes?”

A: [Lloyd laughs] “no she doesn’t make me was dishes that’s why I moved out and got my own place, but uh you know I like to go by and help out...”

Q: “Who would you like to do your next collaboration with?”

A: “With whoever will have me man, uh whoever you know is uh, I guess um interested in working with the kid and also I would prefer for it to be someone who has alot of respect for what they’re doing, and who like myself is always pushing themselves and totally dedicated to music!”

Q: “Would you ever date a fan?”

A: [Lloyd cheekily smiles and laughingly replies] “I would never say never!”

Q: “We’ve seen a lot of pretty women in your music videos, and I was wondering have you ever been shy, filming or acting during the scenes?”

A: “No...not even injured I’m pretty tough!”

Q: “What do you best want to be remembered for we just witnessed the home going of Whitney Houston on TV in 90 years time what to you want people to remember about you?”

A: “I think I’m so young man that to think that far ahead is a bit dangerous I’m all about the moment but I do realise that moments lead to bigger moments, I just hope to be remembered as one of those who treads life with a certain amount of class I think that’s important, I think more so it’s a reflection of how I was raised...”

Q: These are random questions are twitter followers are interested in finding out:

1.      Xbox or PS3?

A: “Ooh you know, Xbox looks better, PS3 is easier but I’d probably say Xbox because they don’t make ‘Halo’ for PS3!”

1.      Man United or Liverpool?

A: “Man United!! Shout out to Rio...that’s my homie...number 5”

2.      Blondes or Brunettes?

A: [Lloyd laughs and replies] “...I was gonna say neither...Red Heads!!! I don’t have a preference I just prefer who’s ever head is growing the hair is a woman!”

Due to public demand Lloyd will be back on March 12^th to kick off another UK tour where you can hear his greatest hits like “SouthSide”, “Cupid”, “Dedication To My Ex” and “Do It Again” now available on Itunes for more information visit http://www.lloydmusic.com

We’d like to extend a warm thank you to Glam Nightclub, Shaz Harris and Urban Fusion Crew.

RCYC visit and interview with BBC Radio Wales Roy Nobles

Last week, the RCYC (Radio Cardiff Young Carers) got the opportunity to visit the BBC Wales studios in Llandaff to have a chat with Roy Noble on his radio show.

Roy Noble, a Welsh native, began his career in the teaching sector later moving into broadcasting full-time.  He has travelled the world as a speaker and is the ambassador for The United Nations International Youth Movement.  In 2001 he was rewarded for his charitable work by receiving an OBE from the Queen.  A far cry from his humble beginnings as the only son of a coal miner who shared his home with at least four other family members in the welsh valleys of Brynamman.

Roy initially had aspirations to join the RAF to become a Pilot but was turned down due to his hay fever allergy.  

Today Roy is a regular friendly voice heard on BBC Radio Wales and the RCYC were at ease whilst being interviewed on the show.  We discussed the difficulties young carers face on a day to day basis, and would like to thank BBC Radio Wales, Roy Noble, Alison Quinn, Charlotte Evans  and the rest of the team for giving us the opportunity to raise awareness of our roles and show.  

To learn more about the show visit:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0079fxq

The Mayor of London and Sainsbury's Supermarket Chain support Carer Rights Day

London Mayor Boris Johnson, supports Carers Rights Day UK, by urging carers to access the support they are entitled to.

Currently, there are an estimated 6.4 million carers who save the economy 12 billion pounds per year, in caring for their loved ones without being paid to do so.  That being said this causes a huge financial strain on the carer which often can lead them to have debt, financial crisis and in some cases cause ill health.

Last year saw a publication estimated that over 840 million pounds is unclaimed in Carers Allowance.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury's, has sponsored Carers UK with 50,000 copies of Carers advice guide booklets, and will also distribute these to it's employees who juggle work and care.  Figures suggest that 1 in 8 employees struggle to care for a loved one and work, this can often lead to staff absences through ill health and or stress.

Other companies who have joined Carers UK in supporting Carers Rights Day are: BT, Pricewaterhouse and the Metropolitan Police Force.

Should you need more advice or support contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau and discuss support group options with your local GP.

Emily Houlzhausen, Director of Policy and Public Affairs at Carers UK says; "Without support, caring can take a huge toll on carers’ health and finances. It is crucial that we all work to identify colleagues, friends and family who have caring responsibilities and make sure they are getting all the support they can.” 

http://www.carersuk.org/

Tulisa Pulinea Contostavlos

With today being Carers Rights Day we thought it would be appropriate to feature a celebrity who also happens to be a Young Carer.


Tulisa became a Young Carer at the tender age of 5 years old following the sectioning of her Mother Anne Byrne under the UK Mental Health Act.  

A Young Carer is a person under the age of 25 who looks after a family member by providing support with domestic cleaning, housekeeping, laundry, grocery shopping and in some cases help with personal care.

This Mental Health Act gives power to local health service and government agencies to admit a person as a matter of urgency into hospital for safe protection, as they are assessed as a danger to themselves or the public. 

The assessment usually involves a team of Psychiatric Doctors/Nurses and Mental Health Social Workers.  Either the Doctor or Nurse will sit with the patient asking a series of questions, and making a record of their response.  They will then meet briefly and make the best possible decision.  

Following this assessment if the patient is admitted they are prescribed appropriate medication, reviewed on a weekly basis, and referals may be made to Crisis Intervention Teams, Occupational Therapists and or any Support Groups or signposted to other services available.  

Once well enough they will be released as an Out-Patient and looked after in the community with the support of both family members, and Social Services.  However in most cases family tend to take on the role of Primary Carer so that the patient, and family, do not have to live through this very arduous and in-personal experience, which leaves private home life as an open book with no stone going unturned.  

This can be a very traumatic process for a young child to witness, and has often left children in need of support themselves in order to alleviate the stress induced upon the family unit or home environment.

Tulisa's Mother Anne was diagnosed  with Schizoaffective Disorder a combination of; Bipolar and Schizophrenia.

Following her Mothers return home, Tulisa would then have to live through another disturbance to home life the separation of her Mother from her father Steven Constatavlos.  More responsibility would be placed on Tulisa with her being named as Primary Carer.

Although both a Primary Carer and Young Carer have similarities in the care they give to a family member, a Primary Carer will have a more detailed level of responsibility.  It is also quite unusual for a child of 11 years old to take on this very adult responsibility as it entails the disclosure of sensitive of information in order for the child to take on this role.  Tulisa may have had to attend medical appointments, administer medications, handle financial care, along with her normal household chores as a Young Carer.  

Often through fear of consequence Young Carers will suffer in silence.  Many themselves become depressed, and have been known to self harm.

During Tulisa's teenage years she struggled with depression, self harm and admitted on the BBC documentary 'My Mum and Me' that there was a time she attempted suicide she recalls "I took some of my mothers pills witht he intention of not waking up".

These added pressures make school life quite unbearable for an adolescent, along with pier pressure, school work and home life Young Carer's can feel quite isolated and alone causing a dramatic impact on what is supposed to be the best years of their life.

Tulisa was unable to complete school and never took her GCSE's.

Today thankfully with some of the skills learned she is referred to as 'The Boss'.  Tulisa is the band member of the MOBO award wining trio N-Dubz.  Having seen success in the US and UK following the bands signing to Def Jam.  She is a fellow judge on The X Factor UK and is currently working on her solo album.

Radio Cardiff Young Carers Show would like to wish Tulisa future success and happiness with whatever path she chooses to take.  We hope one day to be lucky enough to meet her as she is an inspiration to young people everywhere.

Tulisa Pulinea Contostavlos we salute you!


If your a Young Carer needing support please contact http://www.crossroads.org.uk