| Shiro's Story | |
| Director: | Rapman |
| Cinematography: | Simon Stolland |
| Editing: | Simon Stolland |
| Distributor: | Link Up TV |
| Runtime: | 45 minutes (total) |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
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]
| Episode | Production Companies | Released | Length | Views (as of 2024) | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aukes Media | Apr 8, 2018 | 10:15 | 10.5 Million | Self-financed and created by 'calling in favours' | |
| 2 | Aukes Media | Jul 1, 2018 | 13:47 | 10.2 Million | Won GRM Daily Rated Awards - Video of the Year | |
| 3 | Island Records, Aukes Media | Sep 16, 2018 | 21:42 | 13.6 Million | Received over a million views in five hours. Rapman signed to Jay-Z's ROC Nation soon after. |