Mark Andrews: Evil rap music, why we don't need another inquiry, and Brewdog boss hits the nail on the head

The BBC is in a spot of hot water - when is it ever not? - for promoting rap music by Jake Farhi, who murdered 16-year-old Jimmy Mizen in 2008.

It should be pointed out that the killer had changed his identity, and DJ Theo Johnson had no reason to know the performer was a murderer. But let's just say the lyrics to his supposed music are not exactly the stuff of Stephen Sondheim.

For example: “Head gone, chest gone, blades out, flesh gone. Over there, donny like to stare, so he got stepped on.”

Or how about: “See a man’s soul fly from his eyes and his breath gone. I wanted more, it made it less wrong, seeing blood spilt (on) the same floor he was left on.”

Now what words would you use to describe that? Tasteless? Disturbing? Or just, well, rubbish?

Theo Johnson, on the other hand, reckons it 'makes him really stand out', adding "I’m really liking what I’m hearing."

Doesn't that just say it all about today's BBC? Refer to Hamas as terrorists and you get cancelled. Express joy at murdering a young man in the street, and they're 'really liking what I'm hearing.'

*****

The Government has rejected calls for a national, statutory inquiry on sex grooming gangs, but will instead arrange five locally held ones.

Really, what do these inquiries ever achieve? These local inquiries will follow a previous national inquiry which finished just over two years ago, and there can't be many people left in the country now who don't have a broad idea of what went on. 

It's the same with the independent commission on how to fund adult social care, announced by the Government a couple of weeks ago. Millions will be spent, and years wasted, to identify exactly the same problems that Andrew Dilnot found in his 2011 commission.

We don't need more inquiries and commissions. We need leaders, both in government and opposition, with the courage to make decisions. Even if that means telling people things they don't like to hear.

*****

Brewdog isn't my favourite beer producer. Like much of the so-called 'craft beer' movement, I find it quite pretentious, and I can't possibly think why anybody would want a beer that is more than 50 per cent by volume.

But its founder James Watt is bang on the money when he talks about the modern-day worth ethic: "I just think the whole concept of work-life balance was invented by people who hate the work that they do. If you love what you do, you don't need work-life balance; you need work-life integration." 

I'll drink to that.

*****

Meanwhile, the Government is giving £60 million to the 'creative industries', including investment in British film and television, grassroots music and start-up video game companies.

I suppose that's a good thing. According to the House of Lords library, these industries generate £125 billion for the UK, and the moment we need all the growth we get. 

The question is how will it be spent? I'd love to think the money will be used to support talented musicians, and boy, we could do with some decent TV programmes at the moment. But when it comes to things like this, governments usually demonstrate a remarkable talent for picking losers. 

Would you bet against, a couple of years from now, learning that large chunks of this money have been spent, not on promoting the brightest and the best, but on oddball dance collectives, drag queens, and probably the type of 'music' that Jake Farhi comes up with?