I am officially naming today, Wednesday 18th October, Black Boys Celebration Day. Which is fitting, because today marks the 10-year anniversary of “Black Boys”—Bashy’s triumphant, 2007-released single, and one which many believe to be his magnum opus. This song came out when I was 19 years old, a critical age for a young man in this country—especially for a young black man. I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life back then, which path I wanted to take: a career in the music business, or potentially a great life from (easy) street money. But, by reading this, you can probably guess what path I chose. While young black men continue to be demonised for just being them, and sometimes even murdered for the fact, we should look to songs like “Black Boys” for inspiration and upliftment when it doesn’t feel like there’s any for us out there in the world.

Taking lead from the last 60 seconds of the track, I decided to list some inspirational black people in (and out of) this crazy, challenging industry whose grinds I respect highly. We all have egos—I say I don’t, but I do—and might sometimes feel like we can’t salute a next man for doing great work without fear of looking like an absolute beg. But today, I’m here to buck that trend. Let us continue to create strong and positive representations of ourselves so we can gain further ground in telling our own, unique, stories.