Anderson Murraine, aka DJ Calculus

A DJ is fundraising to host classes to get kids off the street.

Anderson Murraine, aka DJ Calculus, is fundraising to buy equipment to host classes for up to six young people to learn the trade – a career he says kept him on the straight and narrow.

“I tore myself away from the streets with music because I wanted to learn how to make music and I wanted to be a DJ. The least I can do is help in any way I can,” said the Liverpool Road musician.

He added: “A lot of these youths and teenagers like music. They want to learn how to make it and music production.

“I want to be able to have the facilities to pass on what I know and to get these youths off the road and into something.”

He says that his own childhood gives him an insight into how valuable positive adult influences can be on a young person’s life.

“I understand what it’s like because I grew up without a father,” he said. “He was only 20 minutes away on the bus in Hackney but he couldn’t be bothered to come and see me. Then my mum had to play father and mother, which was very hard for her. She had to go through a lot. And me, growing up being who I am, doing what I want to do, I had good influences and that’s a good thing because I wouldn’t be here today otherwise.”

Mr Murraine, who has worked with Highbury rap group Task Force, has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise enough money for six laptops, six DJ controllers, and six pairs of monitors, with plans to teach two groups of six students per day six days a week.

The DJ has experience teaching kids at EastSide academy in Newham, and having spent years on the underground radio circuit, Mr Murraine hopes to use his connections to get his pupils into the industry.

“When I was a teenager things were different, there was a lot of stuff available for us. Youth centres, different sports clubs, and different activities,” he said. “I see these things being taken away and the effects it’s having on all the children. They don’t have anywhere to go.

“It’s like the blind leading the blind. They’re depending on the friends, their friends are depending on them – they need someone to show them guidance. They need to find something within themselves that’s a passion. Everyone has a passion, it could be music, it could be cleaning the streets – it doesn’t matter.”

Mr Murraine, who grew up in the borough, has one message for the young people he hopes to teach: “If you want to do something, it’s here for you – stay focused and positive, and it will be there for you. It’s the same with school work, if you keep positive, you will be where you want to be.”

• You can donate to Mr Murraine’s fundraiser at https://www.gofundme.com/f/path-finder