| THE VOICE JUNE 28 - JULY 4, 2012 23

The super strong OlympianThe super strong OlympianThe super strong OlympianThe super strong OlympianThe super strong Olympian

Leona Lewis in foul-mouthed

tirade

Rick Ross dropped by

Reebok

TWITTER OUTBURST

IT’S OVER

Pul

l-Out

ZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITHZOE SMITH

24 ! THE VOICE APRIL 18 - 24, 2013

Stephen Lawrence was just 18 when he was killed in a racistattack while waiting for a bus in south-east London. In 2012,

almost 20 years after his death, Gary Dobson and David Norriswere found guilty of his murder.

As we approach the 20th anniversary of Stephen’s passing,Dionne Grant talks to a host of familiar faces about what affect

his death has had on them

“I will never forgetStephenLawrence or hisstory, which I'veknown most ofmy life. He's anangel. His deathreminds us thatevil still exists butGod is goodbecause he gavehis motherstrength, whichallowed him toeventually get jus-tice. Heartbreaking as well asinspirational.”

ASHLEY�‘BASHY�’THOMASRapper & actor

“Stephencould’ve been mybrother, mycousin or myfriend, which iswhy his deathaffected us sodeeply. The workthat his motherDoreen LawrenceOBE has done inher fight for jus-tice and the charitable organisa-tions set up, is a true testament toStephen’s legacy. He’s a part ofour history that shouldn’t be for-gotten.”

JAMELIASinger andactress

“StephenLawrence'slegacy coverssuch a widespectrum and isa testament tothe great personhe was. Fromarchitecture toyouth empower-ment, revolutionsin law to bringingfocus to racialconflicts that are still present insociety today, his legacy contin-ues to inspire so many.”

YOLANDABROWNAward-winningsaxophonist

“The thing thatstays in mymind when Ithink aboutStephen’slegacy is hismother DoreenLawrence’srelentless strug-gle for change.It reminds me ofhow strong weare when wecome together to tackle issues.Stephen’s death exemplifies thisquote: ‘If you don’t talk about it,you can’t overcome it’”

RICHARDCAMPBELLActor

“It’s been 20years sincethe death ofStephenLawrence andthere haveonly been two convictions forhis murder.This showsme that as ayoung blackman in 2013 Ican STILL suffer the same fate.That’s why it’s so importantthat his legacy be kept foreverin the heart of the black com-munity and Londoners alike.”

MIKEL AMEENRapper

“I was sixyears old whenStephen gotstabbed. Hislegacy provesto me thepower of per-severance,determinationand faith. After20 years ofconstant strug-gle, we havenow finally seensome justice. Stephen’s par-ents are great examples ofsupporting children and love.I've dedicated the final episodeof my new series All About TheMckenzies to Stephen.”

SAMUELLBENTAActor & creatorof web series AllAbout TheMcKenzies

“StephenLawrence’sdeath was atragedy. Thescary thingabout hismurder isthat it couldhave hap-pened to meor someonethat I knowfor no otherreason than the fact we’reyoung black men. His parentsspent years fighting for justiceand it makes me feel proud ofall they have achieved to date.RIP Stephen.”

DIZZY VOCAL-CHAMELEONAfrobeats artist

“To be hon-est, I wasvery youngwhenStephenLawrencewas killed,but Irememberhearing myparents talkabout it. I'mjust happythere has been some justiceand there has been a progression in the waythings are dealt with.”

ANGELSinger

“The fightby theLawrencefamilydemon-strateswhat is achievablewith beliefand persist-ence. I findtheircouragemost inspirational.”

ARNOLDOCENGActor & rapper

“There are certain eventsin my life thathave shapedthe person Iam today.They aremoments thathave mademe realisewhatever I doin my career, Imust do so tomake a change. StephenLawrence’s legacy stands as animportant reminder that as a community we still know what isimportant, our right to be considered as equals underevery circumstance.”

EDDIE KADIComedian &presenter

“StephenLawrence’spassingshows thatwe wereand still areviewed as secondclass citi-zens. Themessagewe shouldtake fromhis legacy isthe need to unite andbecome leaders!”

RICHARDBLACKWOODActor, comedian& televisionpersonality

“The legacy ofStephenLawrence,screams injus-tice to me. Hismother isunable to restbecause 20years later,some of hiskillers still walkfree. I can onlysalute the Lawrence family fortheir tireless campaign for jus-tice. Richard Pryor once said ofthe prison system, ‘You godown there looking for justice,that’s what you find – just us.’To me that quote is funny, sadand in this case true. RIPStephen Lawrence. Gone butnever forgotten!”

“Stephen’slegacy rep-resentshope. Hopefor thefuture wherethere will bean end toviolencebased onthe colour ofyour skin. Ilook forward to working onhelping fight this cause.”

JASON LEWISComedian

MISHA B Singer

“StephenLawrence’slegacy liveson ‘til thisday. I can’tdescribe theimpact hisdeath hashad on meand others Iknow. I wasoblivious toracismbefore, but it could havehappened to anyone; me,my friends or my family. Hisdeath was not in vainthough and he will never beforgotten!”

ASHLEYWALTERSActor & MC

WHAT STEPHEN LAWRENCEMEANS TO ME

Dear Kat,My boyfriend says he wants a baby, but I don’t feel ready.I’m 17 and I’ve been in a relationship with him for seven months,

he’s 21. Our relationship got serious really quickly and now he’s talk-ing about children. I really love him, but he has a child already and Ifeel like I’m too young to be a mum. My best friend has a child and theminute she did, her man left. Now she is struggling.

I don’t want to lose him by saying no, but I don’t want to have a childeither. Plus, my mum would go nuts if I came home pregnant. She does-n’t really like the fact that I’m with a man who has a child in the first place.

I want to make my man happy, but I know that I won’t be happy if Iget pregnant.

Pleeeeeeeeeeeease help me!

Lady T

Hi Lady T,Your approach is a mature one and I respect you for that.You’re 17 and have so much of your life to live. Planning to have a

baby now, when you’re still, in the eyes of the law, a child yourself, isnot ideal.

I understand accidents happen and that many young mothers havemade great parents, but should you fall pregnant it would actually beplanned. You already talked about watching your friend struggle.

Your boyfriend is not that much older than you, is a father already andhas only been dating you for seven months, I worry about his incessantneed to want another child. How is he with the one that he has?

My advice to you would be to tell him no. If he leaves because ofthis, then you must question why he was with you in the first place.If someone truly loves you they will want the best for you, I don’tthink a child is that right now.

Take time to enjoy your life. Go on carefree holidays, nights outwith your friends (when your of age, of course) and ultra-selfishshopping trips.

There is plenty of time for you to start a family.

APRIL 18 - 24, 2013 THE VOICE ! 25

WHEN YOUthink aboutprofessionalweightlifters,you tend to

conjure up images of competi-tors with a bulging musclemass similar to someone likeaction hero ArnoldSchwarzenegger.

But those preconceivednotions have been maderedundant by the feats andframe of the diminutive 5ft 2inZoe Smith.

The south Londoner firstrose to prominence after cap-turing a bronze medal as a 16-year-old in the 2010Commonwealth Games and iscurrently training for the WorldJunior Championships in Peru

on May 3.Since claiming that medal

almost three years ago inIndia, Zoe has also won a sil-ver at the World Youth Gamesin 2011 and represented TeamGB at the London 2012Olympic Games where she fin-ished 12th, lifting a total of211kgs, the equivalent of anewborn killer whale.

But even more impressivethan Zoe’s medal collection isher incredibly long list ofnational records. The teenageOlympian has so many Britishrecords in weightlifting tech-niques - the clean and jerk andthe snatch - that even she’sunsure how many she has bro-ken.

“To be quite honest,

because I’ve been breakingrecords since I was about 13, Ithink it adds up to quite a lot,”she says. “Maybe a few 100but they’re all in differentweight categories and age cat-egories, so not quite asimpressive as it seems.”

The 18-year-old adds:“Senior records are the onesthat really matter to me. In the58 kilo category, I’ve still got afew more records to go. I’vegot the British clean and jerkrecord, but I’ve still got thesnatch record and the totalrecord to go, so they’re the bigaims and I’m really excited tostart breaking them soon.”

During last year’s Games,weightlifting was one of the firstcompetitions of the Olympic

schedule and was held at theExCel Arena. Reminiscingabout her experience on thegrandest stage in all of sport,Zoe said: “It was really good. Ihad a really great time. Thecompetition bit was reallynerve-racking. It was thebiggest stage I’ve ever com-peted on because usually I’dcompete in front of 100 peopleat most, like I did at the BritishChampionships. And thatwould primarily be mums,dads and friends of otherlifters.

“So competing in front of6,000 was ridiculous. It felt likebeing a rock star!” she laughs.

“I really enjoyed that. All thepartying we did afterwards, Ithink we’ll be taking some ofthose stories to our grave. Itwas an absolutely amazingexperience and I can’t wait untilthe next one.”

Once a keen gymnast, Zoefirst got involved in the sportafter coaches discovered herhidden talent as a 12-year-old.Realising that the gym can bea daunting place, Zoe was stillfull of encouragement for thenext generation of female UKweightlifters.

“A lot of girls have contactedme through social media andsaid ‘how do I get involved inweightlifting?’ or ‘I’m nowinvolved in weightliftingbecause you and the guysinspired me to try it out afterthe Games’. It’s still really,really unpopular as far as

sports go, but the popularityhas increased massively I’dsay.”

She went on: “It’s quite amale dominated sport ofcourse so to go in as awoman, or at 12 like I did, isquite a terrifying experience. I’dsay if you really want to getinvolved don’t be shy. Just findout where your local club isand maybe take a friend who isalso interested, just to make ita little bit less scary. All thecoaches I know are more thanhappy to take on new lifters.

“Sometimes when I go intonew gyms people are a little bitsurprised. Some of them knowwho I am from the Olympicsand stuff, but then other peo-ple who don’t can be a bitmore surprised. I think a lot ofpeople still expect weightliftersto be absolutely huge but

we’re actually quite little peo-ple.”

Like Zoe, six-time Olympicgold medallist Usain Boltshould be in action at the 2016Rio Games in Brazil. Zoe saysshe is a “massive” fan of theworld’s fastest man.

On spotting the charismaticJamaican sprinter during lastsummer’s Games, she recalls:“I didn’t see Usain Bolt out, butwe did see quite a lot of theinternational athletes so thatwas quite cool. I walkedpassed Bolt once and I gotreally excited. I would’ve beena proper fan if I had I seen himout. It would’ve been reallyembarrassing for everyonearound me to watch it! He’s acool guy!”

To keep up to date with Zoe’sprogress, follow her on Twitter@ZoePabloSmith

The usually mild-mannered singer LeonaLewis took to Twitter to complain about

cruelty against horses in the recent GrandNational

RICK ROSS:The rapper was droppedby Reebok following the

controversy over his lyricswhere he seemingly

boasts about druggingand raping a woman

JAY-Z:The hip-hop mogul hit

back at critics who saidhis recent trip to Cubawith wife Beyoncé wasillegal with song Open

Letter

FRANK OCEAN:The US singer has

been named the most�‘powerful gay man in

music�’ by OutMagazine

JAMIE FOXX:The entertainer was

given an MTV�‘Generation Award�’ forcaptivating audiencesfor nearly two decades

A look only RiRi could pull off

RIHANNA:

Why those shortsthough, Jay?

JAY-Z:

TWEET OF THEWEEK

Leona Lewis

Olympic weightlifter Zoe Smith talks toYV’sBen Lettman about breaking records, UsainBolt and partying hard after London 2012

BUFF OR BUSTED?

BUSTED

BUFF

youngvoicesmagazine @youngvoicesmag www.voice-online.co.uk/entertainment

26 ! THE VOICE APRIL 18 - 24, 2013

POSTER BATTLE

MARIAH CAREY and NICKI MINAJ

VOTE NOW!! Email us at young.voices@gvmedia.co.uk or tweet us @Youngvoicesmag #YVPosterBattle

USH

ER

SCAN ME

To access Mobil appfor The Voice