Ms. Dynamite
Template:Infobox musical artist 2 Ms. Dynamite (born April 26, 1981), born as Niomi MacLean-Daley, is an English R&B/hip-hop musician.
Biography
Ms. Dynamite was born in London to a Scottish mother and Caribbean father. She grew up listening to reggae and hip-hop music. Though she wanted to become a schoolteacher or social worker, her biggest aspiration was to be a musician. She is the eldest of eleven siblings, one of which is a UK Grime artist known as Akala, and attended Acland Burghley School in Tufnell Park.
Career
Whilst working at the radio station RAW FM, Ms. Dynamite was discovered by Richard Forbes at a West End club. After working briefly with the garage act So Solid Crew, she released her debut album, A Little Deeper in 2002, featuring the hit songs "It Takes More" and "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee". In 2003, the album was released in the USA to critical acclaim.
In 2002, Dynamite won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize, a music award given to groundbreaking British and Irish acts, for her debut album A Little Deeper. She donated the £20,000 prize to the NSPCC.
Her first public performance was at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games at the City of Manchester Stadium. On July 2, 2005, she performed at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park. Among the songs performed was "Redemption Song".
On September 11, 2005, she returned to the limelight (having taken time off to give birth to her son, Shavaar) with a new album entitled "Judgement Days." Featuring more social commentary, in songs such as the single, "Judgement Day," and the Tony Blair critique, "Mr Prime Minister," reviews of the album were not as favourable as those of her debut. The double-A side lead single, "Judgement Day" and "Father," reached #25 in the UK chart.
On the January 6, 2006, Ms. Dynamite was arrested outside a London Nightclub, after a brawl in which she punched a female police officer in the nose whilst in custody. She was convicted and sentenced to sixty hours of community service.
The second single from "Judgement Days" was due to be "Fall In Love Again" (previously titled "When I Fall In Love"), with a release date of January 30, 2006. A video was shot for the track but, due to her arrest, the single was cancelled. The video did not surface until June 2006, when it was leaked on to the web. [1]
In February 2006, she won the Naomi Award for Worst Urban Act.
Since her trouble with the police in January 2006 and her disappearance from the public eye, Ms. Dynamite has confirmed that the much rumoured "A Little Darker" album would finally be released in March 2006 as a mixtape. Since the confirmation, the album has been pushed back until June 2006. Also, in April 2006, Ms. Dynamite confirmed that there would be no more releases from her "Judgement Days" album and that she was due to start working on new material after the release of the "A Little Darker" mixtape.
A collection of new and upcoming UK hip-hop and garage artists, A Little Darker was compiled by Ms. Dynamite and her rapping brother Akala, who was voted Best Hip Hop Act at the MOBO awards in September 2006, beating the like of Kanye West and Busta Rhymes.
In November 2006 she took part in a television show called 'The Race' on SKY One. This was a week long event in which 10 celebrities had to compete against each other on the track in different races building up to a 30 lap Formula Ford race on Sunday 12th November 2006. About 10 laps into the race however disaster struck and Ms Dynamite hit the wall on the pit straight at about 100mph. She was air lifted to hospital for overnight observations but later released.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album | Chart Positions |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | ||
| 2002 | A Little Deeper | #10 |
| 2005 | Judgement Days | #42 |
| 2006 | A Little Darker [Mixtape] | Release: June 2006 |
Singles
Solo Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2002 | "It Takes More" | #7 | A Little Deeper |
| 2002 | "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" | #5 | A Little Deeper |
| 2002 | "Put Him Out" | #19 | A Little Deeper |
| 2005 | "Judgement Day" / "Father" | #25 | Judgement Days |
| 2006 | "Fall In Love Again" (Featuring Kenneth Boothe) | Cancelled | Judgement Days |
Collaborations
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart | |||
| 2001 | "Booo!" (Sticky featuring Ms. Dynamite) |
#12 | -A Real Love Survives The Rock Steady Vibe (No Doubt featuring Ms. Dynamite) |
Soundtrack Appearances
- "Dynamite" (On the Ali G Indahouse OST)
Awards and opinion polls
- Mercury Music Prize, Album of the Year 2002
- MOBO Awards 2003, Best Single, Best Newcomer, UK Act of the Year
External links
Ms Dynamite is currently appearing on SKY ONE's The Race, and the show are auctioning off her signed racing suit on eBay for charity: link to eBay