Ms. Dynamite

Naomi Arleen McLean-Daley Template:Post-nominals (born 26 April 1981), better known as Ms. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of the Mercury Music Prize, two Brit Awards and three MOBO Awards.

Early years

She was born Naomi Arleen McLean-Daley in Crawley, West Sussex, and raised in Kentish Town, North London, to a Jamaican father and a Scottish mother.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She is the older sister of the rapper Akala.<ref>Kate Mossman, "Akala: Dynamite by any other name…", The Observer, 2 June 2013.</ref><ref>Brian Rose, "Fight the Power — Akala and the Power of the Word" Template:Webarchive, London Real Academy, 20 October 2015.</ref>

Career

2001–2004: A Little Deeper

Ms. Dynamite (originally Lady Dynamite) was first known for her vocals on the UK garage underground track "Booo!", which was regularly played on London pirate radio stations and was later released as a single. While working at the radio station RAW FM,<ref>Ms. Dynamite on Raw FM, in 1999, [1]</ref> Ms. Dynamite was discovered by Richard Forbes ("DJ Sticky") at a West End club. 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, who cultivated her talent.

She released her debut album, A Little Deeper, in 2002, which featured hit songs "It Takes More" and "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee". In 2003, the album was released in the United States to critical acclaim.Template:Citation needed In 2002, Ms. Dynamite won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize,<ref name="mercury">Template:Cite web</ref> for A Little Deeper. She donated the £20,000 prize to the NSPCC.

On 8 March 2003, Ms. Dynamite was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live, hosted by Queen Latifah.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Also in 2003, Ms. Dynamite signed a deal to promote Pepsi, reported to be worth £1m <ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She performed at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Commonwealth Games at the City of Manchester Stadium.<ref name="com">Template:Cite webTemplate:Cbignore</ref> On 2 July 2005, she performed at the Live 8 concert in Hyde Park, London. Among the songs performed was "Redemption Song" written by Bob Marley, which she performed alongside her brother, Akala.<ref name="live8">Template:Cite web</ref>

2005–2006: Judgement Days

Template:BLP sources section 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 single, "Judgement Day"/"Father" and the Tony Blair 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.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">Template:Cite book</ref>

In 2006, she was convicted of assaulting a police officer and was sentenced to 60 hours community service.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

2007–present: Hiatus and career wind-down

After a break from music, Ms. Dynamite guest-hosted BBC Radio 1Xtra, and said she would be releasing a third album, Democracy, in 2009, with the first single from the new album being "Bad Gyal".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, this was deferred as she concentrated on other projects and motherhood. Meanwhile, she appeared on Hell's Kitchen on ITV1 in 2009,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> finishing fourth, and later as an expert adviser on Goldie's Band: By Royal Appointment on BBC Two.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Since then, she has appeared on several collaborations, notably Katy B's second single, "Lights On", which peaked at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in 2010, and the Magnetic Man track "Fire", which appeared on their debut album.

A single, "Neva Soft" (produced by Labrinth), was released in 2011, although a promised associated album did not appear.<ref name="dig">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Since then she has been the featured vocalist on the DJ Fresh Versus Jay Fray track "Dibby Dibby Sound" (February 2013) and a David Guetta and Showtek song for the former's 2014 album Listen, "No Money No Love" along with Elliphant.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2020 Ms. Dynamite appeared on a CLIPZ (Redlight), single "Again" which also featured Ms Banks and JayKae.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Discography

Studio albums

• A Little Deeper (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 soundtrack)
• "Dy-Na-Mi-Te" (My Scene Barbie Mix)
• "Krazy Krush" (Misfits Channel 4 soundtrack)

Awards and nominations

Ms. Dynamite was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2018 Birthday Honours for services to music.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Year	Organisation	Award	Nominated Work	Result
2002	MTV Europe Music Awards	Best UK & Ireland Act	"Ms. Dynamite"	Template:Nom
	Mercury Prize	Album of the year	"A Little Deeper"	Template:Won
	MOBO Awards<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Best single	"It Takes More"	Template:Won
		UK Act of the Year	Ms. Dynamite	Template:Won
		Best Newcomer	Ms. Dynamite	Template:Won
2003	100 Great Black Britons<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	100 Great Black Britons (rank 14)	Ms. Dynamite	Template:Nom
	Brit Awards	British Urban Act	Ms. Dynamite	Template:Won
		British Female Solo Artist	Ms. Dynamite	Template:Won
		British Breakthrough Act	Ms. Dynamite	Template:Nom
		British Album of the Year	"A Little Deeper"	Template:Nom
	MOBO Awards	Best Single	"Dy-Na-Mi-Tee"	Template:Nom
		Best Newcomer	Ms. Dynamite	Template:Nom
		UK Act of the year	Ms. Dynamite	Template:Nom
	Race in Media Awards	Media Personality	Ms. Dynamite	Template:Nom
	Ivor Novello Awards<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Best Contemporary Song	"It Takes More"	Template:Nom
2006	Brit Awards	British Urban Act	Ms. Dynamite	Template:Nom

External links

• Template:Allmusic