In Celebration of Ms. Dynamite
Nadine White celebrates the mic-slinging career of Niomi McLean-Daley MBE, aka Ms. Dynamite.
TRENCH
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Ms Dynamite by Simon WheatleyTRENCH
When Ms. Dynamite, 41, first embarked upon her musical journey, the emcee says she was writing lyrics in her hostel bedroom as a teenager and "happily" performing at raves for up to £50.
“I've never thought about it. I never imagined 20 years later I'd be sitting here having achieved some of the things I have, that was never really my intention. I guess because it has been said, it’s made me look at my journey like, 'Oh, yes, wow, you did that.'" Ms. Dynamite said in early 2022.
"Booo!", a classic UK garage collab with the producer and DJ Sticky, then ensued in 2001 which launched her simultaneously into the national music charts and the hearts of music fans across Britain.
The artist, born Niomi McLean-Daley, never envisioned stardom for herself until Polydor Records snapped her up and debut album, A Little Deeper, dropped in 2002 while she was in her early 20s.
The LP cracked the Top 10 UK Albums Chart and earned the artist a prestigious Mercury Music Award—the first solo Black or mixed-raced woman to achieve this feat.
Following Ms. Dynamite's arrival into the industry, she gained the reputation of a straight-shooting social commentator with lyrical prowess, earthy beauty and gritty soul: regal presence with the common touch, yet still.
Ms. Dynamite is someone who can bop to Buckingham Palace to collect an MBE for her services to music in the AM, as she did in 2018, and be welcomed like a heroine in the ends come the PM.
Ms Dynamite by Simon WheatleyTRENCH
On 2002's "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee", her highest-charting single to date at No. 5, Ms. Dynamite declares herself "the same little girl who grew up next door to you".
She's endeared in the hearts of many because she's from the people, for the people, and takes an apologetically candid approach to 'storytelling mirroring reality' through music.
"It Takes More", Ms. Dynamite's second single, dominated the radio airwaves during a ten-week UK chart run and featured heavily across MTV when the video went live.
Born and raised in North London, to a Scottish mother and Jamaican father, Ms. Dynamite is the oldest of twelve siblings, including artist and commentator Akala.
Following her second album, 2005’s Judgement Day—which didn’t garner the same level of success as her first release—she made a conscious decision to step back from her music career to raise her son, Shavaar, who is now 13 years old.
Ms Dynamite by Simon WheatleyTRENCH
Recently, she signalled plans to return to music, having jumped on a few collaborations in recent years and performed at festivals including Glastonbury.
"I was very aware that the industry was male-dominated—there were women in the audience at my gigs but none on my side of the fence," Ms. Dynamite said in 2016, after being honoured with a MOBO award for her contribution to music.
"The fact that I was already the underdog inspired me. People assumed I would be rubbish when I got on stage and all eyes were on me, but it meant I had to deliver."
This digital work has been produced in collaboration with PRS Foundation and POWER UP. The article first featured in TRENCH x Union Black's Chapter One: Game Changers zine.
Words by Nadine White
Photography by Simon Wheatley
Videos by BBC, Ms Dynamite, Sticky, MOBO Awards, Jools Holland, Mariusz
Commissioned by TRENCH
