No Birds Or Bitches

Todd Forrest says: "Those trees look like they're dying." Photo by Jamie-James Medina

I come from a place in East LONDON called Forest Gate. When I say the name “forest gate” you may picture a scene of trees and nature and birds and streams, but it’s not like that. There’s always been drama around here. Back in 1890, the Forest Lane School was the site of a tragic accident where 26 boys were killed in a fire. The building eventually became a maternity ward, producing some of today’s finest young men. Soon after that, the ward lost the government funding and was shut down. Boy, it’s a bit shady round here. My mum wants to move away. This is probably one of the deepest ends for crime in East London, that’s if you ask the police. There was a killing on this road over a £10 bag of weed! The guy that went to get his money, that’s the guy that got killed! He got thrown on the floor and he was stabbed in the leg and he bled to death. Hopefully that won’t happen to me because everyone in the area knows me and I don’t go around bullying people, ya get me? In Forest Gate we, the N.A.S.T.Y Crew, know everyone. I don’t really get caught up in all the gangstas, but they know me and I know them. Obviously man’s had drama, but the whole point of this music we do is that people wanna get out of this area cos in the ghetto is where you get caught up in all this on road shit and shootings. Also another big reason why we want to get out of here cos there ain’t no girls around here. Over the years, us growing up, they all had kids, y’get me? All the nice ones anyway. We don’t let them girls get far. D DOUBLE E
D is part of East London’s N.A.S.T.Y Crew and he has a new white label out called “Birdz In The Sky”.