Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

, two

Brit Awards The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...

and three

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and ...

Early years

She was born Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley and raised in

Kentish Town Kentish Town is an area of northwest London, England in the London Borough of Camden, immediately north of Camden Town. Less than four miles north of central London, Kentish Town has good transport connections and is situated close to the open ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nor ...

to a Jamaican father and a Scottish mother. She is the older sister of the rapper Akala.

Career

2001–2004: ''A Little Deeper''

Ms. Dynamite (originally Lady Dynamite) was first known for her vocals on the

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. I ...

underground track "

Booo! "Booo!" is a song by UK garage DJ/producer Sticky featuring Ms. Dynamite. It was the first single Ms. Dynamite appeared on before the release of her debut solo single the following year. The song was a top 20 hit, peaking at No. 12 on the UK ...

", which was regularly played on London

pirate radio Pirate radio or a pirate radio station is a radio station that broadcasts without a valid license. In some cases, radio stations are considered legal where the signal is transmitted, but illegal where the signals are received—especially ...

stations and was later released as a single. While working at the radio station RAW FM, Ms. Dynamite was discovered by Richard Forbes ("DJ Sticky") at a West End

club Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

. Interest grew from all major British labels and eventually she was signed via her management Bigga Beats to Polydor Records, where she met producer

Salaam Remi Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is a Grammy winning American record producer known for his association with Nas, Amy Winehouse, Robby, Fugees, Fergie, Estelle, Black Thought, and Miguel, and for his reggae-tinged (often referred to as ...

, who cultivated her talent. She released her debut album, ''

A Little Deeper ''A Little Deeper'' is the debut studio album by English singer and rapper Ms. Dynamite. It was released on 10 June 2002 by Polydor Records. The album won the Mercury Prize in 2002. As of September 2011, it had sold 495,000 copies in the United K ...

'', in 2002, which featured

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

songs " It Takes More" and " Dy-Na-Mi-Tee". In 2003, the album was released in the United States to

critical Critical or Critically may refer to: *Critical, or critical but stable, medical states **Critical, or intensive care medicine * Critical juncture, a discontinuous change studied in the social sciences. *Critical Software, a company specializing ...

acclaim. In 2002, Dynamite won the prestigious

, for ''A Little Deeper''. She donated the £20,000 prize to the

NSPCC The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) is a British child protection charity. History Victorian era On a trip to New York in 1881, Liverpudlian businessman Thomas Agnew was inspired by a visit to the New Yor ...

. On 8 March 2003, Ms. Dynamite was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted by

Queen Latifah Dana Elaine Owens (born March 18, 1970), known professionally as Queen Latifah, is an American rapper, actress, and singer. Born in Newark, New Jersey, she signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album ''All Hail the Que ...

. Also in 2003, Ms. Dynamite signed a deal to promote Pepsi, reported to be worth £1m She performed at the closing ceremony of the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

at the

City of Manchester Stadium The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...

. On 2 July 2005, she performed at the

Live 8 Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland, from 6–8 July 200 ...

concert in

Hyde Park, London Hyde Park is a Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Gre ...

. Among the songs performed was "

Redemption Song "Redemption Song" is a song by Jamaican singer Bob Marley. It is the final track on Bob Marley and the Wailers' twelfth album, ''Uprising'', produced by Chris Blackwell and released by Island Records. The song is considered one of Marley's gre ...

" written by

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981; baptised in 1980 as Berhane Selassie) was a Jamaican singer, musician, and songwriter. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, his musical career was marked by fusing elements ...

, which she performed alongside her brother, Akala.

2005–2006: ''Judgement Days''

On 11 September 2005, she returned to the limelight (having taken time off to have her son, Shavaar) with a new album titled '' Judgement Days''. Featuring more social commentary, in songs such as the first

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

single, "

Judgement Day The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (; ar, یوم القيامة, translit=Yawm al-Qiyāmah or ar, یوم الدین, translit=Yawm ad-Dīn, ...

"/"

Father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

" and the

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

critique, "Mr Prime Minister," reviews of the album were not as favourable as those of her debut. However, "Judgement Day" reached No. 25 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. In 2006, she was convicted of assaulting a police officer and was sentenced to 60 hours community service.

2007–present: Hiatus and career wind-down

After taking a break from the music scene, Dynamite guest-hosted

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

, and stated she would be releasing a third album, ''Democracy'', in 2009, with the first single from the new album being "Bad Gyal". However, this was later pushed back as she concentrated on other projects and motherhood. Meanwhile, she appeared on ''

Hell's Kitchen Hell's Kitchen, also known as Clinton, is a neighborhood on the West Side of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is considered to be bordered by 34th Street (or 41st Street) to the south, 59th Street to the north, Eighth Avenue to the ea ...

'' on

ITV1 ITV1 (formerly known as ITV) is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the British media company ITV plc. It provides the Channel 3 public broadcast service across all of the United Kingdom except for t ...

in 2009, finishing fourth, and later as an expert adviser on ''Goldie's Band: By Royal Appointment'' on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream a ...

. Since then, she has appeared on several collaborations, notably

Katy B Kathleen Anne Brien (born 8 May 1989), better known as Katy B, is an English singer and songwriter. She released her debut studio album, '' On a Mission'', in 2011, which spawned two top five hits, "Katy on a Mission" and " Lights On". In 2014 ...

's second single, " Lights On", which peaked at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in 2010, and the

Magnetic Man Magnetic Man is an English electronic music project from London, consisting of dubstep producers and DJs Benga, Skream and Artwork (previously known as Menta). The trio first met in the late 1990s at the Big Apple Records store in Croydon. ...

track "Fire", which appeared on their debut album. A single, "

Neva Soft "Neva Soft" is a song by British performer Ms. Dynamite. The single was released in the United Kingdom as a digital download on 2 September 2011 and debuted and peaked at number 33 on the UK Chart - marking the eighth top 40 hit for the artist. ...

" (produced by

Labrinth Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. After initially pursuing a career in music production, Simon Cowell signed him to his record lab ...

), was released in 2011, although the promised album did not appear. Since then she has been the featured vocalist on the DJ Fresh Versus Jay Fray track "

Dibby Dibby Sound "Dibby Dibby Sound" is a song by British record producer DJ Fresh and American record producer Jay Fay (whose track it is heavily based on), featuring vocals from British singer Ms. Dynamite. It was released on 2 February 2014 as the second si ...

" (February 2013) and a

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta ( , ; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and music producer. He has over 10 million album and 65 million single sales globally, with more than 10 billion streams. In 2011, 2020 and 2021, Guetta was voted the number one D ...

and

Showtek Showtek is a Dutch electronic dance music duo consisting of two brothers from Eindhoven, Sjoerd (born 6 April 1984) and Wouter Janssen (born 20 August 1982). The duo regularly manages to reach the top of multiple music charts and work with artis ...

song for the former's 2014 album ''

Listen Listen may refer to: * The action of listening * Central auditory system listening is how the brain processes what you hear * Listening behaviour types in human communication Computing * LISTEN, a TCP connection state on the server side indi ...

'', "No Money No Love" along with

Elliphant Ellinor Miranda Salome Olovsdotter (born 8 October 1985), known professionally as Elliphant, is a Swedish singer, rapper and songwriter. Her sound was initially created together with the Swedish production duo Jungle, which consists of Tim Den� ...

. In 2020 Ms. Dynamite appeared on Drum n Bass artist, CLIPZ (

Redlight (musician) Hugh Pescod, better known as Redlight, is a British DJ, record producer, remixer and composer from Bristol. Biography Redlight was brought up around 90's warehouse rave culture in Bristol. His music and career has spanned over a decade, havi ...

), single "Again" which also featured Ms Banks along with

JayKae Janum Khan, better known by his stage name Jaykae, is a British rapper and actor from Small Heath, Birmingham. Music career Jaykae's start with music began when he started listening to other grime artists from London. In 2017 he released a ...

Discography

;Studio albums * ''

'' (2002) * '' Judgement Days'' (2005) ;Mixtapes * ''A Little Darker'' (with Akala) (2006)

Soundtracks

* "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" ('' FIFA 2003'' soundtrack) * "Dy-Na-Mi-Te" (''

Ali G Indahouse ''Ali G Indahouse'' is a 2002 British comedy film written by Sacha Baron Cohen and Dan Mazer, directed by Mark Mylod, and starring Baron Cohen as Ali G, the character he originally played on the Channel 4 comedy series '' The 11 O'Clock Show'' ...

'' soundtrack) * "Dy-Na-Mi-Te" ('' My Scene'' Barbie Mix) * "Krazy Krush" (''

Misfits Misfits or The Misfits may refer to: Film and television * ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift * ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film * ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...

'' Channel 4 soundtrack)

Awards and nominations

Ms. Dynamite was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

2018 Birthday Honours The 2018 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

for services to music.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dynamite, Miss 1981 births Living people Anglo-Scots 21st-century Black British women singers Black British women rappers Brit Award winners British hip hop singers English people of Jamaican descent English people of Scottish descent British contemporary R&B singers English women singer-songwriters People from Crawley People from Archway, London Rappers from London Singers from London UK garage singers BBC Radio 1Xtra presenters Polydor Records artists Relentless Records artists Members of the Order of the British Empire British women radio presenters