GTK

It all started with a vision. A vision to create, aspire, inspire and achieve. My creative skills and passion for art and design have always stuck with me since my school days, and another way to express it — to let people see my artistry — was through designs and clothing. I hope it brings more people together in the community, and eventually, who knows? Globally.

My name is Warren Cassells and I'm a 23 year old mixed Caribbean male and aspiring artist from Derbyshire, Swadlincote.

Growing up in a household of 8 was hectic to say the least. However amongst all the madness there was music, and with music came life. My dad had his own decks where he would mix music and make mashups, and we also attended venues where my uncle would do the same but professionally in front of big crowds. This is what really and truly made me fall in love with everything around it — the culture, the dance, the vibes, the food, everything. This is when I knew who I wanted to be.

You're probably thinking, well what does this have to do with clothing or designs though, right? Hold your horses.

In 2020, I was convicted of a Section 18 and armed burglary, and handed a custodial sentence of 3 years.

When I came home, I wasted no time — straight away I got back to recording music. In a short period of time, me and a couple of other artists who featured on some of my songs and who I also grew up with were making quite a bit of noise, locally and out of town. So we decided to form a music group called D11.

Even though most of us grew up together, we had our own troubles individually, and with other people we didn't always see eye to eye with. Sometimes we voiced this in our music, which sparked controversy and ended up leading to trouble in the streets. This was never our intention, and it saddened me because everything we'd built was slowly falling apart.

One night, things took a turn for the worse. On 12/6/21, one of our dear mates from the group, Benjamin Orton — also known as BK — was tragically stabbed, and he fell to his death.

This put a hold on what was a big part of our lives at the time. Most of the group divided — some not wanting to live that life anymore, others fearing for their own safety, because things were getting too out of hand. It wasn't just affecting us. It had an effect on the whole town, and especially on Ben's closest friends and family — especially his mother, Amanda Orton, who I will always show my gratitude to and have time for. God bless.

Since Benjamin's death, I have found it very difficult to navigate myself back to the path I was on musically. I don't want the same thing to happen again. Beyond that, I feel the concept people have created in their heads is that the music itself is negative because of what happened — when in actual fact, I'm just rapping or singing about some harsh realities we face daily, trying to transform them into something positive by relating to people's struggles, bringing them closer together, and using music to spiritually connect — telling each other's story through pain rather than anger, and joy rather than sadness.

The clothing and designs are just another way for me to express myself, beyond music — but also another way to bring the community together and work with each other to tackle the difficulties we face. We're hoping to raise awareness for Benjamin, and to donate to knife crime charities every so often in his favour, for his family, and for all the other people it has affected up and down the UK. I thank you for reading this, and hopefully I'll see you on our journey. #GTK