Celebrating Britain's 101 Most Influential Asians 2021

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Naughty Boy


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THE award-winning British DJ and producer Naughty Boy has said that music “saved” him during lockdown and has called for more “special protections” for the industry.

In his opinion, music has a “power” that can help people more intimately than some relationships – as it aids wellbeing both “mentally and spiritually”. He says that his biggest struggle during lockdown was “living with my mum who has dementia”.

“As a family (dementia) can seem like a lonely experience… you don’t think anyone will understand. It does affect your mental health.

Especially as Asians, everything is very closed (private)… you don’t really speak about what’s going on in the family… mum’s at the point where we don’t know what she’s going to say,” he says.

Born Shahid Khan, Naughty Boy’s journey to becoming one of the most sought-after names in the music industry can surely be considered one for the movies.

For the double MOBO-award winner – who has produced songs for the likes of Beyonce, Ed Sheeran and Sam Smith – the most difficult experience with his mother was when she recently failed to recognise the 36-year-old.

Khan says during this testing period, it was the “power of music” that helped his mother cope with the change in routine.

“I’m so proud to announce that I’m an ambassador of Dementia UK and I hope that I can use my profile to raise awareness of the cause and the charity.

“With my mum’s ever-changing condition and the pressures this places on the wider family, I understand how beneficial an Admiral Nurse would be.

“I’m learning about dementia all the time so I’m hoping that the relationship will be mutually beneficial and I’ll be able to find out more from the amazing Admiral Nurses at the charity, so that I can provide my

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