The new star of Radio 1, Maya Jama, has revealed how a traumatic childhood, including a boyfriend who was gunned down in the street, drove her to succeed.
Maya, who is dating grime artist Stormzy, is one of the new faces of the flagship station and hailed as ‘the new superstar’ of young Britain who is ‘redefining the nation’s cultural currency’.
But before she hit the big time Maya, 23, had a tough upbringing in Bristol with a father who was in and out of prison.
She was also caught up in a personal tragedy following the death of her boyfriend Rico Gordon when she was 16.
Maya, who will soon be co-hosting with Scott Mills, was in a relationship with Rico who was caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between two rival gangsters.
Maya Jama (pictured with boyfriend Stormzy) has told how a traumatic upbringing drove her to succeed as she prepares to join Radio 1 as their newest DJ
He was walking through Easton in Maya’s home city of Bristol after attending St Paul’s Carnival in summer 2011 – and the pair were talking on the phone.
Maya appeared on Crimewatch to appeal for the public’s help in tracking his murderers four months after his death.
Shakah Anderson, 31, of no fixed address, and Rickel Adams, 27, of Neasden, north London, were found guilty of his murder following a trial.
Speaking about the death Maya said: ‘That’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. It was unreal – the sort of thing that happens in films.
‘That experience gave me so much motivation to push with my career. At the time, work was the only thing that made me happy, so I just kept on going with it.
‘Bad things happen, but you’ve got to try to make good things out of that tough situation. That’s what it taught me.’
At 16 Maya’s partner Rico Gordon (pictured) was shot dead while making his way home in her home town of Bristol
Rico had been on the phone to Maya when he was caught in the crossfire of a gunfight between two rival gangsters. Pictured: Stapleton Road where he was shot
As a child Maya (pictured left while in primary school) dealt with her father being in and out of prison for violent brawls
Maya was unveiled as one of BBC Radio’s next generation of presenters after making her TV debut as a presenter on ITV1 show Cannonball.
But her meteoric rise is the result of seven years’ hard work after she left Bristol following Rico’s death.
As a child, Maya recalls how she would answer the door to police searching for her father – and reveals she felt guilty after telling officers he was hiding under a bed, which led to his arrest.
Maya says he was ‘banged up’ for several short sentences having injured people in violent brawls.
Maya says that it was the challenges in life that drove her forward
Their relationship will be discussed in depth in a new documentary in which she talks to other young people who, like her, have grown up with a dad behind bars.
Maya recalls a conversation with her aunt, her dad’s sister, explaining: ‘I asked her lots about their childhood; whether anything happened to him that made him the way he was.
‘But she said, no, they were a very close family. There were five children and they were all treated the same, and everyone else is fine.
‘They were educated in a school where most of the kids were white – their family was one of the first Somali families to settle in Bristol – so maybe that had something to do with it, but I can’t be certain.’
Maya will initially join BBC Radio 1 to host the station’s weekly Greatest Hits show on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm and will also co-host with Scott Mills and Chris Stark on Friday afternoons.
She said: ‘I’m so happy to be presenting alongside Scott Mills on Fridays.
‘I’m sure I can learn a thing or two from him and beyond excited to have my own show on Radio 1 every Saturday, I cannot wait to start.’