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Throughout the last year English Heritage, BME and Kingdom Entertainment have been working together on a project designed to explore the history of Middlesbrough and the diverse communities that make up our area.

The project named Middlesbrough Memories was created to promote the town following the wide spread criticism during 2007, which unfortunately saw Middlesbrough being tagged as one of the worst places to live in Britain.

A group of 14 to 19 year olds got together and were encouraged to create a short film on the area. So, armed with camcorders they were given a tour of the town and its greatest landmarks.

Over the summer of 2008 the group visited the Guisborough Priory, Captain Cook Museum and the Heritage Trail. They also attended the Middlesbrough Mela in July and interviewed people along the way.

Soundtrack

DJ Shak, part of Kingdom Entertainment, worked with the youngsters on the visits around Middlesbrough and was asked to produce a track with front man Maze, which would act as a soundtrack to the project.

"I liked the idea of exploring where Middlesbrough came from, being able to teach these kids more about the town and keep them away from those things which were reported, plus it inspired us even more when creating the track", explained DJ Shak.

The song entitled "The Boro" took a number of weeks to create, with DJ Shak producing the beat and Maze writing the lyrics.

Maze added, "Writing the track took a while because we wanted everything to be on point, knowing that there is going to be a lot of people who know the history thoroughly, we wanted to get it right, and didn't want to rush it."

Response

The pair performed the song at the International Centre in Middlesbrough on the 17 December 2008 and the audience attending had nothing but praise for the project and the song.

"I'm not the biggest fan of rap music, but that track is great and the message they are trying to put out is fantastic. Middlesbrough is a place to be proud of", said Imran Naeem, who showed up to support the project.

After visiting the famous landmarks, learning about the true heritage of the town, and generally absorbing themselves in the area, the duo were able to incorporate what they had learnt into the track.

"You have to listen to the track but we looked at the progression of the area, and we talk about the history of the town, where we are now, and where we're going in the future", said Maze.

Criticism

Channel 4 TV programme Location, Location, Location labelled the area as the worst place to live in its 2007 poll.

However, DJ Shak believes Middlesbrough is one of a kind, "I have played all over the world, from London to Spain and every time I come up the A19 I just feel like I'm home. The people are great and I'm proud to have been born and bred here."