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A funky new era: why women MCs are ruling UK clubs again
Ms Dynamite, who made some of 2009's biggest club tracks. Photograph: David Lau
After too long in the shadow of their male counterparts, women MCs are making their mark on the mainstream. Some of the key players explain why the future of British hip-hop is female.
British female rappers have always been a breed apart. While their male counterparts have tended to wear their debt to US hip-hop greats with pride, the likes of Ms Dynamite and Stush have shied away from the explicit shock tactics employed by Americans such as Lil' Kim and Trina. Stush, the chipmunk-voiced chatterbox who first came to prominence in 2002 with the grime classic Dollar Sign, laughs at the thought of copying the Americans. "Over here, if you came out with that talk, you'd just get people going, 'Oh, that girl's a slag, man!' All the guys would switch on you, you'd get no respect."
British female rappers have always been a breed apart. While their male counterparts have tended to wear their debt to US hip-hop greats with pride, the likes of Ms Dynamite and Stush have shied away from the explicit shock tactics employed by Americans such as Lil' Kim and Trina. Stush, the chipmunk-voiced chatterbox who first came to prominence in 2002 with the grime classic Dollar Sign, laughs at the thought of copying the Americans. "Over here, if you came out with that talk, you'd just get people going, 'Oh, that girl's a slag, man!' All the guys would switch on you, you'd get no respect."
Funky bears similarities to turn-of-the-century UK garage – which may be why some familiar names have resurfaced, such as Stush and Ms Dynamite. Like Lady Chann, they have both released essential club tracks over the past year that balance a matriarchal, no-nonsense stance with lubriciousness and levity. They have been absent for different reasons, though.
Ms Dynamite seemed to disappear in the wake of Judgement Days, her 2005 follow-up to her Mercury prize-winning debut A Little Deeper. "I was quite a new mum at that point," she explains. "I reckon I did the second album half-heartedly. I might have been in the studio feeling like I was focused, but my head was actually thinking: I wonder how my son is? So I decided I wasn't ready to come back to music."
Now, Ms Dynamite feels ready. She was responsible for two crucial UK funky cuts in 2009 – the propulsive, rattling Get Low (Crackish), produced by Rinse FM boss Geeneus, and the frenetic, tough-as-nails Bad Gyal, produced by Sticky. "It's cocky, confident and self-assured," she says of the latter. "There's a kind of arrogance, but this is a cool, fun arrogance. Not putting anyone down. Just being that confident in yourself." A new single with Zinc, Wile Out, is a metallic, harder-edged take on funky house; Ms Dynamite is once again on fine form on it, switching adeptly between singing and classic dancefloor MCing, exhorting a crowd to "gwaan, get deep, make a scene, wile out!" in rapid-fire patois.
Ms Dynamite's transition out of and back into the music industry was a smooth one. "My record company were pretty supportive. I think some of them were genuine, they had kids of their own and they understood. Others were just like, well, we're not going to get anything out of her in this state anyway, it'd be a waste of money." She pauses. "Creativity's one of those things you can't fake."
Article by: Alex Macpherson
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Ms Dynamite Live @ The Stratford Circus
Ms Dynamite live @ The London Jazz Festival, Ladies Unplugged Acoustic gig @ The Stratford Circus London.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
ms dynamite to launch 2010 comeback with headline gig
Having graced fans with a small, sold out run of live performances last year, Ms Dynamite has now confirmed what we were hoping – that these were the first steps of a long overdue comeback. Yep, one the UK’s finest urban artists is back in the game. Niomi McLean-Daley earned her spurs in the golden-era days of pirate radio and UK garage, leaping nimbly across into the mainstream with hits like ‘Boo’, ‘It Takes More’ and ‘Dy-Na-Mi-Tee’, eventually winning the Mercury Music Prize in 2002 for her debut album A Little Deeper. She’s been cooking up a storm with Gordon Ramsey on ITV’s ‘Hell’s Kitchen’, but the MC/singer is finally back where we love her the most: behind the mic.
Starting things as she means to go on, the London-born singer has been announced as headliner for one night of the Red Bull Music Academy’s month-long festivities. The February 12 event, hosted by Sin City and Hyponik at Brixton’s newly reopened Plan B, will see two rooms packed with bass-friendly, UK nurtured talents, including roots legend David ‘RamJam’ Rodigan, Sin City residents Hatcha & N-Type, Appleblim & Ramadanman, garage/dubstep heads El-B & J Da Flex, and the legendary jungle/d’n'b duo supreme, Kenny Ken and MC Skibadee. Expect to hear material both old and new from Ms Dynamite and, when her newest DJ Zinc collaboration ‘Wile Out’ drops, be ready to do just that. Welcome back boo.
Tickets are £8 in advance, £12 on the door.
Starting things as she means to go on, the London-born singer has been announced as headliner for one night of the Red Bull Music Academy’s month-long festivities. The February 12 event, hosted by Sin City and Hyponik at Brixton’s newly reopened Plan B, will see two rooms packed with bass-friendly, UK nurtured talents, including roots legend David ‘RamJam’ Rodigan, Sin City residents Hatcha & N-Type, Appleblim & Ramadanman, garage/dubstep heads El-B & J Da Flex, and the legendary jungle/d’n'b duo supreme, Kenny Ken and MC Skibadee. Expect to hear material both old and new from Ms Dynamite and, when her newest DJ Zinc collaboration ‘Wile Out’ drops, be ready to do just that. Welcome back boo.
Tickets are £8 in advance, £12 on the door.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Ms Dynamite Comeback!
MS DYNAMITE has been quick to deny her appearance on Hell’s Kitchen is a secret ploy to relaunch her stuttering chart career.
But I can tell you the Mercury Award-winning rapper, who is cooking up a storm in the ITV1 show with chef MARCO PIERRE WHITE, has already recorded a single for when she hangs up her oven gloves. Her last big year was back in 2002.
A source said: “She’s desperate to get back on the music scene and knew a show as big as Hell’s Kitchen could revive her career.
“She has already recorded the video to go with her new single, Bad Gyal, using the UK’s best female freestyle dancers.”
She should get Marco dancing in her video. Now that would be dynamite.
But I can tell you the Mercury Award-winning rapper, who is cooking up a storm in the ITV1 show with chef MARCO PIERRE WHITE, has already recorded a single for when she hangs up her oven gloves. Her last big year was back in 2002.
A source said: “She’s desperate to get back on the music scene and knew a show as big as Hell’s Kitchen could revive her career.
“She has already recorded the video to go with her new single, Bad Gyal, using the UK’s best female freestyle dancers.”
She should get Marco dancing in her video. Now that would be dynamite.
Ms. Dynamite Bio
Ms. Dynamite Active years: 00s
Ms. Dynamite Genres: Electronic, Soul, Garage, R&B, Contemporary R&B, Urban, 2-Step/British Garage
Ms. Dynamite Top hits: Dy-Na-Mi-Tee, It Takes More - Radio 1 Live Lounge, It Takes More - Album Version (Edited), Put Him Out, Judgement Day.
About Ms. Dynamite:
Ms. Dynamite (aka Niomi McLean-Daley) grew up in North London, listening to reggae and turning to hip-hop at the age of 12. Even when she wanted to become either a primary school teacher or a social worker, her passion for music was stronger. After starting out in a pirate radio station called RAW FM, Ms. Dynamite met Richard Forbes (aka Sticky) in a West End club. The two began working on her debut single, "Boo!," licensed from DJ Jason Kaye's Social Circles label to London Records.
Punch, Salaam Remi, Tony Kelly, and Dave Kelly produced her first full-length record in Miami, New York, and Jamaica. A Little Deeper featured the hit singles "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" and "It Takes More." In September 2002, Ms. Dynamite became the first black female artist achieving a Mercury Music Prize, beating favorites the Streets, the Coral, and even music legend David Bowie. Three years later, she released her second album, Judgement Days.
Ms. Dynamite Genres: Electronic, Soul, Garage, R&B, Contemporary R&B, Urban, 2-Step/British Garage
Ms. Dynamite Top hits: Dy-Na-Mi-Tee, It Takes More - Radio 1 Live Lounge, It Takes More - Album Version (Edited), Put Him Out, Judgement Day.
About Ms. Dynamite:
Ms. Dynamite (aka Niomi McLean-Daley) grew up in North London, listening to reggae and turning to hip-hop at the age of 12. Even when she wanted to become either a primary school teacher or a social worker, her passion for music was stronger. After starting out in a pirate radio station called RAW FM, Ms. Dynamite met Richard Forbes (aka Sticky) in a West End club. The two began working on her debut single, "Boo!," licensed from DJ Jason Kaye's Social Circles label to London Records.
Punch, Salaam Remi, Tony Kelly, and Dave Kelly produced her first full-length record in Miami, New York, and Jamaica. A Little Deeper featured the hit singles "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" and "It Takes More." In September 2002, Ms. Dynamite became the first black female artist achieving a Mercury Music Prize, beating favorites the Streets, the Coral, and even music legend David Bowie. Three years later, she released her second album, Judgement Days.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
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