THE BREATHE ANTI-KNIFE CRIME PROJECT
Knife crime is one of our society's most pressing problems. But it is also one of the most complex.
Neil Patel’s Breathe a hip hop track and music video which he hopes will bring "peace on these streets".This non-profit hip hop/yoga album, The Breathe Experience, with all profits going towards providing workshops for free.
A yoga teacher for 30 years he hopes set up free meditation workshops - with a Hip Hop beat - for young people.
KNIFE CRIME STATISTIC
from Office for National Statistics (www.ons.gov.uk)
Increase in the Greater Manchester Police Force Area in year ending December 2021
Knife-enabled crime recorded by the police in the year ending December 2021
Increase in “possession of article with a blade or point” in year ending December 2021
WHY BREATHE?
I moved to to Kilburn seven years ago and in the last year things have just gone crazy," he said. "You can hear sirens all day and all night. I've not been able to sleep with all this stuff going on. Yoga and music is my life.
I want young people to experience a different feeling other that a wait to get stabbed. A lot of what kids listen to is Hip Hop so I made a track.
Hip hop is the church of the street now. I feel compassion for the victims and the perpetrators. The kids are a product of structures above them. Jail is not the only answer.
What people need is peace inside themselves. I did a simple breathing exercise and introduced a hip hop beat. Hip hop beats with breathing calms the mind and nervous system and brings down anger and stress levels. If you do a good beat and get them to practice it and if it spreads they can get a tiny bit of peace inside themselves. I try to reach the youth through music with breathing on top of that."
If you would like to purchase the album: 
The Breathe Experience and associated projects (to do with knife crime) are non-profit. This means that all profits from the purchase of this single or album will go back towards the further development of this specific cause:
To bring peace to the streets of the U.K via free teachings and information on breathing exercises and meditation. Your support is greatly appreciated.
Neil Patel was featured in the news for his anti knife crime project.
Check out the coverage:
Neil Patel – known as N1 – is a rapper and yoga teacher from London. Having noticed a worrying increase in violent crime in his local area over the last year, he wanted to do something to help.
So N1, who is also a hip hop producer, combined his love of music with his yoga-training to create Hip Hop Breathing, a grounding breathing exercise set to hip hop beats that aims to promote calm and peace.
His is offering the classes, for free, in the worst-hit areas of the capital, and is also set to release a hip hop-yoga album called The Breathe Experience.
This will be the world’s first musical album to contain a traditional breathing exercise as a separate track.
