Shiro's Story

Shiro's Story
Directed byRapman
Written byRapman
Produced by
Starring
CinematographySimon Stolland
Edited bySimon Stolland
Music by
  • Kaze Beats (Rap Instrumentals)
  • Jonathon Deering (Score)
Production
companies
Distributed byLink Up TV
Release date
  • 2018 (2018)
Running time
45 minutes (total)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Shiro's Story is a three-part YouTube series released in 2018, written, directed and narrated through the medium of rap by British rapper Rapman. It stars Joivan Wade as Shiro, Percelle Ascott as his best friend, Kyle, and has appearances from Konan, Deno, Ashley Walters, Headie One, Not3s and Cadet. Themes of betrayal, love and London gang rivalry play throughout, but there is no glamourisation of violence.

The series was shot guerrilla-style on a budget of £3,000 and had been seen 7.2 million times as of early November 2019.[1] The series as a whole has a run time of 45 minutes. Part 2 of the series won GRM Daily's Video of the Year award in 2018.[2]

Rapman subsequently signed a contract with Island Records and Jay-Z's ROC Nation,[3] and in late 2018, Paramount Pictures and BBC Films bought the rights for his feature film Blue Story.[4][5][6]

  1. ^ Leigh, Danny (8 November 2019). Rapman: the London film-maker who gatecrashed Hollywood in style. The Guardian.
  2. ^ "Here Are all the Winners from the GRM Daily Rated Awards". 5 September 2018.
  3. ^ "'Shiro's Story' Creator Rapman Signs "Life-Changing" Deal with JAY-Z's Roc Nation". Capital XTRA.
  4. ^ Mensah, De'Graft (21 September 2018). "Rapman: I want to take Shiro's Story to Netflix". BBC Newsbeat.
  5. ^ "Move over Bodyguard: how crime drama Shiro's Story became a YouTube hit". The Guardian. 18 September 2018.
  6. ^ "Shiro's Story: an engrossing tale of growing up on the wrong side of the tracks". Evening Standard. 8 October 2018.