International grime star joins college teaching staff

Derby College Group has enlisted the services of an international grime star who will teach students who have their sights set on a career in the music industry.

Elijah Eyes (stage name Eyez), who is a former student at the college, will be teaching Grime, Drill, Hip Hop and R&B to Level one and two Music students at DCG’s Joseph Wright Centre.

The study programmes, available to both school leavers and adults, cover a wide range of skills including performing, composing, sound design, music production, administration and management.

Eyez started rapping when he was just 11 years old and has won international acclaim for his work.

Now in his late 20s, he continues to perform across the UK with a strong fan base and YouTube following.

He said: “I moved to Derby with my family when I was six and, having attended four different schools, I knew a lot of people in different parts of the city and across the UK.

“My music career really started to take off when I was studying Media at Derby College and I was getting invites to perform live across the UK, produce videos and appear on well-known online channels.

“My tutors were really supportive and understood that I needed to pursue my dream of being a major music star.

“Nowadays I am more grounded. I still love to perform but my other passions are to support emerging artists and to mentor young people.

“I have done a lot of education work at schools across the UK and also set up online tutorials which won me a teaching award.

“Now, I am really looking forward to developing my teaching career at Derby College and studying myself for my formal teaching qualifications.”

Simon Nobbs, DCG’s creative industries and business team manager, said: “We were looking for a specialist in Grime, Drill, Hip-Hop and R&B, primarily to appeal to talented young people who are producing these styles of music at home, but haven’t necessarily considered studying music full-time at college.

“Derby used to have a vibrant hip-hop scene, and I’m hoping that by appointing Elijah we’ll be doing our bit to continue this fantastic legacy.”