Professor Green: I still have working class anxieties

Professor Green will always have “working class anxieties”.

The 37-year-old rap star spent years worrying about his finances – but he’s determined that his son Slimane Ray won’t suffer the same fate.

The rapper – whose fiancee, actress Karima McAdams, gave birth to their baby boy earlier this year – said: “People always say, ‘oh you’re middle class’, no. I grew up working class, I cannot rid myself of working class anxieties.

“My mortgage hangs over my head like a dark cloud until I have absolute financial security, I will always have my working class anxieties but I am making sure I am working my backside off to ensure he doesn’t have to.

“He’s gonna be working from a young age. I was working from the age of 12, probably before when I used to go and help my uncle on a building site.

“He’s going to understand the value of a penny, let alone a pound. Unbeknownst to him, he will hopefully avoid many of the hardships I had growing up.

“You break the cycle, you don’t perpetuate it.”

The ‘Read All About It’ hitmaker – whose real name is Stephen Manderson – “grew up on benefits” and has called on the UK government to support people from disadvantages backgrounds.

He told the Metro newspaper: “Before free school meals, one of my earliest memories was my nan taking me to our GP to swap her voucher for my SMA milk. I grew up on benefits so I understand the benefit of them and the necessity of them as well. People need that support.

“I think any government we have could just be doing more. As long as there’s a problem, more needs to be done.”