Don't get Ms Dynamite miss understood

New sound: Ms Dynamite loves the current crop of UK artists
11 April 2012
The Weekender

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Ms Dynamite is one of the UK's most respected artists and has been running the urban music scene for the past ten years.

She has performed at Live 8, won three MOBO's and two Brit Awards and donated £20,000 to the NSPCC after winning the Mercury Music Prize.

Despite being regarded as one of the best urban artists to ever come out of Britain, the London raised singer is down to earth.

On the issue of taking a five year hiatus to start a family she said: "Motherhood gave me a grounding and changed my priorities. I've come back now with a level of energy that I probably wouldn't have had if I had stayed in music."

When speaking about her new track, Neva Soft, the excitement and love that she has for music is plain to see.

Ms Dynamite recorded the track in half-a-day from start to finish with rising producer, Labrinth.

"We spent a lot of the time just chatting about music we grew up on and I said I really want to drag some of that into now, and mix it with an electric style and two hours later he pressed play and I was like 'wow I love it'."

Ms Dynamite, real name Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley, says working with Labrinth was very natural and the new track is about being who you are and being real and true to yourself.

When talking about music Niomi speaks in a way that can be described as the same way that Neo sees the world in The Matrix. Lot's of random codes that are unfathomable to the average human.

At times she speaks so passionately and quick that it is easy to misunderstand what she is saying.

She described her new song as 'hearing sounds and tunes in her head and then fuses them together and makes songs.

This unique individual has nothing but love for her contemporaries. While other musicians view talent as rivals, Ms Dynamite is happy to sit back and watch artists grow.

"I'm so happy as a music lover to see people do well because today's [urban] artists have created their own sound. We aren't copying what the Americans are doing, we have our own identity."

Neva Soft by Ms Dynamite is out now.

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