Don’t forget, we’ll have Alex Wheatle live on your airwaves later on from 3:55pm on #SundaySessions with @_short_t and @AAATHEONLYWAY. But who is he and what impact did he have on British history? A thread

Alex Wheatle was born in South London in 1963 to Jamaican parents and became a massive fan of reggae. At 16, he was a founder member of the Crucial Rocker sound system, performing as a DJ under ‘Yardman Irie’ and writing lyrics about everyday Brixton life.

By 1980, Wheatle was living in a social services hostel in Brixton, South London. in 1981 he took part in the Brixton Uprising after the New Cross Fire which killed 13 young Black people aged between 14 and 22.

Wheatle was sentenced to a term of imprisonment after the Brixton Uprising. He claims his cell mate was a Rastafarian, and was the one who encouraged him to start reading books and care about his education.

Today, he is a British novelist, with his early books being based on his life in Brixton as a teenager and his time in social services' care. His first novel, Brixton Rock, was published to critical acclaim by BlackAmber Books in 1999.

You can watch his story, portrayed by Sheyi Cole, tonight on #SmallAxe at 9pm.