Natalia Sheppard ( ''née'' Scott, born in 1976), better known by her stage names MC Tali and Tali, is a

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

artist, best known for her 2004 hit "Lyric on My Lip", which reached #39 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 ...

. Tali has also worked with prominent artists, such as former

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 ...

nominee Roni Size. Tali prefers to use the name "Tali" when singing and songwriting acoustically or live, preferring to use 'MC" whenever she collaborates with electronic music artists, sometimes using the former. In November 2019 Tali won the Vodafone New Zealand Music Award for Best Electronica Artist for her 2018 album "Love & Migration".

Biography

Originally based from a dairy farm in

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dis ...

, Tali moved to the UK in 2001 to follow her dreams of becoming a top international MC. After signing to the legendary Full Cycle Label owned and run by Roni Size, Tali went on to release her first album ''Lyric on my Lip'' with a UK top 40 single and worldwide tour. The album featured production from Roni Size,

Krust Kirk Thompson (born 26 July 1968), better known by his stage name Krust, is an English drum and bass producer, DJ and co-owner of the Full Cycle record label. Beyond his roles in the music industry, Thompson is also responsible for two business ...

Die Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

and featured guest vocals from

Dynamite MC Dynamite MC (born Dominic Smith, 7 October 1973) is an English rapper and MC. He originally gained prominence in jungle/drum and bass, working with Roni Size & Reprazent, but has also released hip hop material. Career He started his MCing ...

. From here she collaborated with some of the scene's most prolific names in both production and DJ/MC shows, working alongside people such as

Goldie Clifford Joseph Price MBE (born 19 September 1965), better known as Goldie, is a British music producer and DJ. Initially gaining exposure for his work as a graffiti artist, Goldie became well known for his pioneering role as a musician in t ...

Fabio Fabio is a given name descended from Latin ''Fabius'' and very popular in Italy and Latin America (due to Italian migration). Its English equivalent is Fabian. The name is written without an accent in Italian and Spanish, but is usually accented ...

Grooverider Raymond Bingham (born 16 April 1967 in Streatham, London, England), better known as Grooverider, is a British drum and bass DJ. He and DJ partner Fabio are regarded as "originators" of the scene.

Shy FX Andre Williams, better known as Shy FX, is a British DJ and producer from London. He specialises in drum and bass and jungle music. Biography Shy FX's debut record was "Jungle Love", released in 1992 on the Permission to Dance label. Soon aft ...

Dirtyphonics Dirtyphonics is a French electronic music band from Paris, consisting of members Charly Barranger and Julien "PitchIn" Corrales. Their music style is based on dubstep, drum and bass, drumstep. In 2008, Dirtyphonics signed on Shimon's label Au ...

Ed Rush Ed Rush is the stage name used by the drum and bass producer and DJ, Ben Settle (born 1973). Rush has been releasing records since 1992 and primarily with his musical partner Optical (Matt Quinn), since 1997. Along with Optical he is also the co ...

E-Z Rollers The E-Z Rollers are a British drum and bass group.IMO Record"EZ Rollers", ''IMO Records'', London, 21 October 2011. Retrieved 23 November 2011. The group was formed in 1995 in Suffolk, England. E-Z Rollers began releasing output on the Mov ...

The Freestylers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

Calibre In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the finished bore matc ...

DJ Marky Marco Antonio da Silva known professionally as DJ Marky, is a Brazilian drum and bass DJ. Together with DJ Patife, XRS Land and Drumagick, Brazilians were forging a new sound in drum and bass that became popular around the world with release ...

and many more. When Full Cycle disbanded in 2006, Tali moved to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

for a change of scenery and music. Disillusioned with the drum and bass scene, and suffering from depression and anxiety, she began working alongside hip hop duo First Man, and from here collaborated with MC’s including

Skinnyman Skinnyman (born Alexander Graham Holland, 9 November 1974) is a British rapper who was born in Chapeltown Leeds, Yorkshire and moved to Finsbury Park, London at a young age. He grew up on the Six Acres Estate next to Andover Estate. Among his ...

Blak Twang Blak Twang (born Tony Olabode in England), who also uses the pseudonyms Taipanic and Tony Rotton, is a British rapper who grew up in Deptford, Lewisham, South-East London. Blak Twang is world-renowned for his live performances, and is also respe ...

Ti2bs Maka Agu, (born 12 January 1982), better known by his stage name Ti2bs or Mr Ti2bs, is an English rapper. He released his first mixtape ''North Stars Rising'' in 2002; and his first album, ''Nobody's Perfect'', in 2007 on Kemet Entertainment Recor ...

and Sincere. From this came her compilation CD ''Do It for Yourself''. After regaining her confidence in 2008, Tali began MCing out and about on the drum and bass circuit once again. Her skills earned her “Best Female MC” at the Drum n Bass Awards three years in a row from 2008 to 2010. Afterwards, Tali signed to AudioPorn Records and released ''Dark Days, High Nights'' which features collaborations with

Lynx A lynx is a type of wild cat. Lynx may also refer to: Astronomy * Lynx (constellation) * Lynx (Chinese astronomy) * Lynx X-ray Observatory, a NASA-funded mission concept for a next-generation X-ray space observatory Places Canada * Lynx, Ontar ...

, Dirtyphonics, Dodge and Fuski, Fourward, Noisses,

Shimon Shimon ( he, שמעון) is the original Hebrew pronunciation of the names Simon and Simeon. Among individuals, Shimon can refer to: Given names * Shimon Agranat (1906-1992), Israeli judge and President of the Israeli Supreme Court * Shimon Amsalem ...

, Ed Rush and SKisM. Tali also released a live studio version of this album in collaboration with

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

band More Like Trees, featuring Christoph Bauschinger, backing vocals from Collette Warren and production by legendary DnB producer Ant Miles in 2011. During her hiatus from drum and bass, Tali also created an alias for herself, as a chance to explore her love of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

and

showtunes A show tune is a song originally written as part of the score of a work of musical theatre or musical film, especially if the piece in question has become a standard, more or less detached in most people's minds from the original context. ...

. Rogue Nouveau was born and from here Tali put together a live band, which produced jazz with a touch of her trademark MCing. Rogue Nouveau performed at prestigious venues throughout London, such as

The Jazz Café The Jazz Cafe is a music venue in Camden Town, London. It opened in 1990 on the former premises of a branch of Barclays Bank and has had several owners throughout its history as a music venue. In 2020 the Jazz Cafe celebrates its 30th year, h ...

and

Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is a jazz club that has operated in Soho, London, since 1959. History The club opened on 30 October 1959 in a basement at 39 Gerrard Street (London), Gerrard Street in London's Soho district. It was set up and managed ...

, before disbanding when Tali moved back to New Zealand in 2012. In 2011, Tali was commissioned as the composer for a political comedy musical called ''Nicked'' (written by Richard Marsh), which featured at The Hightide Theatre Festival and previewed on the

West End West End most commonly refers to: * West End of London, an area of central London, England * West End theatre, a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London, England West End may also refer to: Pl ...

. It received rave reviews in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper Sunday editions, published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group, Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. ...

'' and ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

''. While working on this musical, she met her co producer Christoph Bauschinger. Their friendship and work relationship on this project led to them collaborating on her fourth studio album. ''Of Things to Come...'', which Tali released herself upon returning to New Zealand in 2012. Tali's vocals were featured on the

Activision Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one ...

game ''

DJ Hero ''DJ Hero'' is a music video game, developed by FreeStyleGames and published by Activision as a rhythm game spin-off of the ''Guitar Hero'' franchise. It was released on October 27, 2009 in North America and on October 29, 2009 in Europe. The ga ...

'', and her songs have been used in promotion for

Rob Dyrdek Robert Stanley Dyrdek (born June 28, 1974) is an American entrepreneur, actor, producer, reality TV personality, and former professional skateboarder. He is best known for his roles in the MTV reality and variety shows '' Rob & Big'', '' Rob Dy ...

's ''

Fantasy Factory ''Rob Dyrdek's Fantasy Factory'' is an American reality television series that aired on MTV from February 8, 2009, to March 5, 2015. On September 17, 2013, it was announced that ''Fantasy Factory'' was renewed for a sixth season, which premier ...

'' on the

Xtreme Sports Channel X-Treme Sports was a Canadian English language category 2 television channel owned by Canwest Media Inc., a division of Canwest Global Communications. X-Treme Sports aired a variety of programming primarily related to extreme sports. History On ...

( Sky UK), ''

Really Really may refer to: * ''Really'' (album), by JJ Cale * Really (TV channel) *''Really'', a 2006 film starring Philip Arditti *''Really'', a 2000 album by David Huff *"Really", a 2018 song by Blackpink from ''Square Up'' See also * * Real (disa ...

'' and ''

Soccer AM ''Soccer AM'' is a British football-based comedy/talk show, produced by Sky Sports. First broadcast in 1995, the programme currently airs on Sky Showcase, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Football at 10.30am on Saturdays during the fo ...

'', and her

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

s are used on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

and

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 ...

. After moving back to New Zealand in 2012, Tali started her own radio show called ''The Morning Sickness'' on

George FM George FM is a New Zealand dance music radio station, owned and operated by MediaWorks from its Hargreaves Street headquarters and relayed on Freeview and radio frequencies around New Zealand. Its seventy-five regular presenters and additi ...

(8am10am), which she gave up early 2015 due to touring commitments. She was also the corporate voice of the station for over a year. Tali is a trained secondary school teacher at the Canterbury College of Education, has a

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

from The National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Arts (NASDA), a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

in English Literature also has vast experience in tutoring, mentoring, writing and vocal producing for other artists. As well as this Tali has written for ATM,

Knowledge Knowledge can be defined as awareness of facts or as practical skills, and may also refer to familiarity with objects or situations. Knowledge of facts, also called propositional knowledge, is often defined as true belief that is disti ...

, Nu:Soul, and Guestlist Network publications in the UK and US and for 'Her' magazine in New Zealand. After returning to New Zealand, Tali released ''Of Things to Come…'', produced by Christoph Bauschinger and featured guest vocals from Laura Hunter. Distributed by Rhythm Method, Tali released two singles: "JetSet Love" received

NZ On Air NZ On Air (NZOA; mi, Irirangi te Motu), formally the Broadcasting Commission, is an autonomous Crown entity and commission of the New Zealand Government responsible for funding support for broadcasting and creative works. The commission ope ...

funding (shot by Mo’Fresh Productions) and "Of Things to Come…" was funded independently (shot by Toby Ricketts). Tali initially toured this album with a live band, before stripping it back to acoustic form with her guitarist and co-collaborator Harry Leatherby in order to focus more on her musical performance. In May 2015 Tali finished producing, writing and recording her own independent album ''Wolves'', which went to #14 in the New Zealand album charts in its first week of release. The first single from this - "Forces" was remixed by TREi and went to #18 in the New Zealand singles charts. Tali released two further singles from this 'Faster Than Sound' and 'Wolves' with additional music videos. Following on from this, in 2016 Tali released 'KETA' a dreamy, downtempo cinematic EP featuring production from Tokyo Prose, Aske, and Sam De Jong and vocal cameos from Kings and Bailey Wiley. Singles from this included 'High To Get High', 'I Fly Over You' and 'Berlin' all of which have accompanying music videos. In 2018 Tali published her first ever fiction novel 'The Little White House' under her full name Natalia Sheppard - which was published by UK publishing house Vanguard Press. That same year, seven years since she last released a full Drum and Bass album, Tali released 'Love & Migration' on Fokuz Records (Netherlands). This album features production from Malaky, Kasper, Melinki, The Vanguard Project and Roygreen and Protone amongst others, and vocal features from DRS, Degs and Georgie Fisher. Singles from the album include 'Eye On You' and 'Paperwasp'. This album saw Tali take out 'Best Electronic Artist' at the 2019 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. Tali continues to perform both as a singer/songwriter and MC, both in New Zealand and internationally. She is a teacher, mentor, inspirational speaker and in 2020 is celebrating 15 years since the release of her debut album 'Lyric On My Lip' with both a first ever digital release, and an accompanying documentary.

Discography

Albums

Singles

* "Lyric on My Lip" (Full Cycle Records, 2004) - UK No. 75 * "Blazin" (Full Cycle Records, 2004) - UK No. 42, AUS No. 97 * "Lyric on My Lip" (re-release, 2004) - UK No. 39 * "Airport Lounge" (Full Cycle Records, 2004) * "High Hopes (All Over Now)" (Full Cycle Records, 2004) * "Tali Story" (Easy/Sativa Records, 2007) * "Dark Days" / "Lost in the Game" (AudioPorn Records, 2011) * "Facing Forwards" / "Who Can Say?" (AudioPorn Records, 2011) * "JetSet Love" (Talimusic 2012) * "Of Things to Come..." (Talimusic 2012) * "Walk a Mile" (Talimusic 2014) * "Forces" (Talimusic 2014) * "Faster Than Sound" (Talimusic 2014) * "Wolves" (Talimusic 2015) * "Forces" TREi Remix (Viper Recordings, UK 2014) * "How to Get High" (Talimusic 2016) * "I Fly Over You" featuring Kings (Talimusic 2016) * "Berlin" (Talimusic 2016) * "Powerful" featuring

Melodownz Bronson Price, known professionally as Melodownz, is a New Zealand MC, rapper and urban poet from Avondale, Auckland. Debuting in 2013, Melodownz has released solo projects including ''Beginners Luck'' (2014), ''Avontales'' (2017) and ''Melo & B ...

(Talimusic 2017) * "Eye On You" (Fokuz Recordings 2018) * "Paperwasp" Lenzman Remix (Fokuz Recordings)

Featured on

*Ahoribuzz - "Providence" (2014) *Asides & Makoto - 'In Your Arms" (Aquarian Dreams 2015) *Atlantic Connection - "Good Hood Review" (feat. MC Tali) (Hot Pink Delorean Remix) *Atlantic Connection - "Good Hood Review" (feat. MC Tali) *Atlantic Connection - "So Me" (feat. MC Tali) *

- "Travellin' " (feat. MC Tali) (First Man Remix) *Bulletproof - "Lessons" (2013) * Camo and Krooked - "Verve" (feat. Tali) - Audioporn Records 2010) *

Chaz Jankel Charles Jeremy "Chaz" Jankel (born 16 April 1952) is an English musician. In a music career spanning more than 40 years, he came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist and keyboardist of the rock band Ian Dury and the Blockheads. With ...

- "I Come Alive" (feat. MC Tali) * Clipz - "Forever" (feat. MC Tali) *Clipz - "Sound Boy" (feat. MC Tali) (VIP Remix) *Clipz - "Sound Boy" (feat. MC Tali) *Clipz - "Thinking Forward (feat. MC Tali)" *

Concord Dawn Concord Dawn is a New Zealand drum and bass group, active since mid-1999, consisting of Matt Harvey (aka Matty C). Until 2010, Evan Short was one half of the group. They were courted by local electronic music label Kog Transmissions and release ...

- "Moonlighting" (2014) *CTRL-Z & Screwface present Stereo:Type - "Under My Skin (feat. MC Tali)" *Dan Aux - "Fcvk Yes" (2014) *

& Skitz - "It's On (feat. MC Tali &

)" (Clipz Remix) *Die & Skitz - "It's On (feat. MC Tali & Dynamite MC)" *

- "The Secret" (AudioPorn Records, 2010) *Dope Ammo - "Cold Rock a Party" (feat. MC Tali) *

Drumsound & Bassline Smith Drumsound & Bassline Smith are a British electronic music production group, consisting of Andy Wright and Ben Wiggett (the duo known as Drumsound) along with Simon 'Bassline' Smith. They met at one of Derby's club nights in the summer of 1998. ...

- "In the Silence (feat. MC Tali)" *Eavesdrop - "What Do They Know?" (2013) *Eavesdrop - "Sideshow" (2014) *Eavesdrop - "This Moment" (2017) *

- "Slow Fire (feat. MC Tali)" *E-Z Rollers -"Lets Give In/Liar Liar" (Intercom Recordings 2008) *First Man - "Help Them (feat. MC Tali & Blak Twang)" *First Man - "Set It Off (feat. MC Tali & Skinnyman)" *Fourward - "Facing Fourwards (feat. Tali)" udioporn Records 2011*

& Die - "Hold It Down (feat. MC Tali)" *Krust & Die - "Soul Beat Calling (feat. MC Tali)" *Krust & Die - "Sounds of the Culture (feat. MC Tali &

Rodney P Rodney Panton, also known as Rodney P (born in Balham, London, 12 December 1969) is an English MC, as well as a radio and television personality who first gained attention via the UK hip hop scene in the 1980s. A former member of UK hip-hop gro ...

)" *

& Kemo - "The Real Thing (feat. MC Tali & Vaceo)" *MayaVanya - "Rockets" (2014) *Mutated Forms - "Blue Magic" ( SS Remix - New Identity Recordings, 2008) *Paramount - "Wanderlust" (Broken Audio 2015) *Patife & SUV - "Inta Outa (feat. MC Tali)" (Rock Mix) *Patife & SUV - "Inta Outa (feat. MC Tali)" (Surge Remix) *Patife & SUV - "Inta Outa (feat. MC Tali)" * Roni Size - "Cheeky Monkey (feat. MC Tali & Dynamite MC)" *SUV - "Do You Remember Me? (feat. MC Tali)" *Severity Zero - "Tapestry" (Fokuz Recordings 2015) *

- "This City (feat. Tali)" *TREi - "Homecoming" (2012) *Xilent - "Gravity (feat. Tali)"

Compilations

*''Do It for Yourself'' Mixtape, 2007 *''Deep Sound Vol 1'' - DJ SS and Influx UK - New Identity Recordings, 2008 *''Soulside Sessions Vol 1'' - Free online DnB mix with DJ Emma G, 2011 *''Soulside Sessions Vol 2'' - Free online DnB mix with DJ Emma G, 2012 *''Soulside Sessions Vol 3'' - Free online DnB mix with DJ Emma G, 2012 *''Soulside Sessions Vol 4''- Free online DnB mix with DJ Emma G, 2013 *''Soulside Sessions Vol 5''- Free online DnB mix with DJ Emma G, 2013 *''Soulside Sessions Vol 6'' - Free online DnB mix with DJ Emma G, 2014 *''Soulside Sessions Vol 7'' - Free online DnB mix with DJ Emma G, 2015 *''Soulside Sessions Vol 8'' - Free online DnB mix with DJ Emma G, 2016 *''Soulside Sessions Vol 9'' - Free online DnB mix with DJ Emma G, 2017 *''Soulside Sessions Vol 10'' - Free online DnB mix with DJ Emma G, 2020

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
AudioCulture profileAudio Porn Records official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tali, MC Living people New Zealand rappers 21st-century New Zealand women singers Drum and bass musicians George FM 1976 births