TWO rapping dads have created a song to discourage teenagers from carrying knives.

Jay Kitchen and Owen Louis Rekless go by the names MC J.O K and Project Lando.

The pair, both from the Colchester area, decided to use their drum and bass skills to send a poignant message to young people.

Their song, Drop the Knife, Value Life, highlights the dangers of carrying weapons.

Part of the song says: “Knives wreck lives and that’s a given, so take a minute, think about it, make the right decision.

“A youngster with a blade in his jacket, it was hidden. Now he’s in the hospital in critical condition.”

Jay, 35, and Owen, 42, met each other ten years ago and have appeared on various radio stations and labels together.

Jay, who has a four-year-old daughter, said: “The knife crime situation in Colchester in recent months is starting to mirror similar events in our capital which are happening on a regular basis.

“The authorities are trying their best although youngsters in particular are not getting the information they need and the seriousness of carrying weapons in general is not being presented enough.

“A fellow drum and bass and grime MC [mic controller] fell victim to knife crime near Castle Park back in 2013 and lost his life.

“It hit us all very hard, he had lots of friends and support.”

In October, it was revealed Colchester had the second highest level of serious knife crime in Essex in 2018.

The only borough which could top the 100 offences was Southend.

The pair believe in the age of social media a rap song is the right way to reach the target audience.

Jay said: “Knife crime frequency in Colchester has certainly risen in general and really is a terrible state of affairs.

“If we can help spread the message to even a few that would be a fantastic place to start.

“Carrying a knife in the first place makes you a target.”

Owen also has a daughter, aged 11.

The duo deliberately made the video a lyric video as they wanted to words to resonate with young people.

Jay said: “We aimed for it to be as hard hitting as possible but without lecturing too much.

“A few other artists brought this subject to our attention - a fellow drum and bass MC from London who goes by the name Bellyman, inspired us to support the hashtag #droptheknifevaluelife.

“Donnie Cabrera who is a basketball coach also showed us the #carryabasketballnotablade hashtag.

“We want to give a special mention to Charlie Sanderson for recording our track in his home studio and to Joe Murphy for creating our video.”

To see the video search for MC J.O.K & Project Lando - Drop the Knife Value Life, on YouTube.