Ms. Dynamite | |
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.jpg) Ms. Dynamite in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Naomi Arleen McLean-Daley |
| Born | (1981-04-26)26 April 1981 (age 43) Crawley,West Sussex, England |
| Origin | Kentish Town, London, England |
| Genres |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Labels | |
Naomi Arleen McLean-DaleyMBE (born 26 April 1981), better known asMs. Dynamite, is a British singer and rapper. She is the recipient of theMercury Music Prize, twoBrit Awards and threeMOBO Awards.
She was born Naomi Arleen McLean-Daley inCrawley, West Sussex, and raised inKentish Town,North London, to aJamaican father and aScottish mother.[1] She is the older sister of the rapperAkala.[2][3]
Ms. Dynamite (originally Lady Dynamite) was first known for her vocals on theUK garage underground track "Booo!", which was regularly played on Londonpirate radio stations and was later released as a single. While working at the radio station RAW FM,[4] Ms. Dynamite was discovered byRichard Forbes ("DJ Sticky") at aWest Endclub. Interest grew from all major British labels and eventually she was signed via her management Bigga Beats to Polydor Records, where she met producerSalaam Remi, who cultivated her talent.
She released her debut album,A Little Deeper, in 2002, which featuredhit songs "It Takes More" and "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee". In 2003, the album was released in the United States tocritical acclaim.[citation needed] In 2002, Dynamite won the prestigiousMercury Music Prize,[5] forA Little Deeper. She donated the £20,000 prize to theNSPCC.
On 8 March 2003, Ms. Dynamite was the musical guest onSaturday Night Live, hosted byQueen Latifah.[6]
Also in 2003, Ms. Dynamite signed a deal to promote Pepsi, reported to be worth £1m[7]
She performed at the closing ceremony of the2002 Commonwealth Games at theCity of Manchester Stadium.[8] On 2 July 2005, she performed at theLive 8 concert inHyde Park, London. Among the songs performed was "Redemption Song" written byBob Marley, which she performed alongside her brother,Akala.[9]
 | This section of abiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Ms. Dynamite" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
On 11 September 2005, she returned to the limelight (having taken time off to have her son, Shavaar) with a new album titledJudgement Days. Featuring more social commentary, in songs such as the firstdouble A-side single, "Judgement Day"/"Father" and theTony 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 theUK Singles Chart.[10]
In 2006, she was convicted of assaulting a police officer and was sentenced to 60 hours community service.[11]
After a break from music, Dynamite guest-hostedBBC 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".[12] However, this was deferred as she concentrated on other projects and motherhood. Meanwhile, she appeared onHell's Kitchen onITV1 in 2009,[13] finishing fourth, and later as an expert adviser onGoldie's Band: By Royal Appointment onBBC Two.[14]
Since then, she has appeared on several collaborations, notablyKaty B's second single, "Lights On", which peaked at number 4 in the UK Singles Chart in 2010, and theMagnetic Man track "Fire", which appeared on their debut album.
A single, "Neva Soft" (produced byLabrinth), was released in 2011, although a promised associated album did not appear.[15][16] Since then she has been the featured vocalist on the DJ Fresh Versus Jay Fray track "Dibby Dibby Sound" (February 2013) and aDavid Guetta andShowtek song for the former's 2014 albumListen, "No Money No Love" along withElliphant.[17]
In 2020 Ms. Dynamite appeared on a CLIPZ (Redlight), single "Again" which also featuredMs Banks andJayKae.[18]
| This section of abiography of a living persondoes notinclude anyreferences or sources. Please help by addingreliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourcedmust be removed immediately. Find sources: "Ms. Dynamite" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(January 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Ms. Dynamite was appointedMember of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the2018 Birthday Honours for services to music.[19]
| Year | Organisation | Award | Nominated Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | MTV Europe Music Awards | Best UK & Ireland Act | "Ms. Dynamite" | Nominated |
| Mercury Prize | Album of the year | "A Little Deeper" | Won | |
| MOBO Awards[20] | Best single | "It Takes More" | Won | |
| UK Act of the Year | Ms. Dynamite | Won | ||
| Best Newcomer | Ms. Dynamite | Won | ||
| 2003 | 100 Great Black Britons[21] | 100 Great Black Britons (rank 14) | Ms. Dynamite | Nominated |
| Brit Awards | British Urban Act | Ms. Dynamite | Won | |
| British Female Solo Artist | Ms. Dynamite | Won | ||
| British Breakthrough Act | Ms. Dynamite | Nominated | ||
| British Album of the Year | "A Little Deeper" | Nominated | ||
| MOBO Awards | Best Single | "Dy-Na-Mi-Tee" | Nominated | |
| Best Newcomer | Ms. Dynamite | Nominated | ||
| UK Act of the year | Ms. Dynamite | Nominated | ||
| Race in Media Awards | Media Personality | Ms. Dynamite | Nominated | |
| Ivor Novello Awards[22] | Best Contemporary Song | "It Takes More" | Nominated | |
| 2006 | Brit Awards | British Urban Act | Ms. Dynamite | Nominated |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
