British rapper Plan B has been left saddened after witnessing the plight of poor youngsters in inner city London schools.
The musician, real name Benjamin Paul Ballance-Drew, has teamed up with singer Leona Lewis and fellow hip-hop stars Labrinth and Dizzee Rascal to back the Bbc Radio 1 and 1Xtra Academy initiative in the borough of Hackney.
The stars hope to inspire young wannabe artists to chase their dreams of a career in the music industry and to help them hone their talents.
Plan B, who admits he had a difficult upbringing, has now spoken of his heartache at seeing the difficulties some schoolchildren suffer.
Speaking about adults who do not have direct contact with children living in poverty, he tells the Bbc, "When it's not affecting them, they don't care about these children's lives. They do not care that these kids are getting abused mentally, physically. No one's doing nothing (sic).
"The stuff I've heard (while visiting schools) is heartbreaking. I've got kids self-harming themselves (sic), scared to go to school because a friend of theirs died the week earlier who was in a gang who got attacked for his phone...
"What I've found by working with them in music... by doing music therapy with them is that they all engage, they all respond, they all love music, they all want to do it. And then suddenly they get a call, a call from someone in their personal life, and then their whole vibe changes, their motivation just goes. If their personal life isn't going well, it just destroys all their confidence and their motivation to do anything and these kids are having to deal with stuff that most adults don't have to deal with."