Wednesday 28 March 2012
Saturday 17 December 2011
Tuesday 22 November 2011
Music Article text - 'Miss-X'
Hip-Hop Honey from Hackney, ‘Sharelle Holdsworth’, better known by her stage name ‘MISS – X’, might have been brought up in a rundown council estate in the north of London but, in the past fifteen months she has broken free from the crime filled streets of Hackney and landed herself a record deal, managing to reach Chart topping success with her debut album, ‘EMPIRE’. It quickly became a commercial success, peaking at the top of the billboard 200 and it has become a platinum award winning product. Miss- X is the first ever female artist to have 8 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and is being compared to many globally successful female Hip-Hop/Rap artists such as ‘Nicki Minaj’, ‘Missy Elliot’ and ‘Lil Kim’.
‘It’s all very overwhelming’, Says Miss – X, ‘I’m not really sure what to say or think right now, (laughs) I mean platinum! It feels almost surreal and I’m just waiting for somebody to wake me up. I’m not shocked that I’m here though, maybe of how far I’ve come and the amount of success, but that’s it. People say to me, you Must be so excited; a Year in the industry and you’ve already achieved so much! Don’t get me wrong I’m buzzing but a year’s nothing, I’ve only been seen in the public eye for a year so it looks like I just got lucky and I can tell you now that’s not the case. I’ve worked for this my whole life. I grew up in very rough surroundings and unfortunately the people there weren’t blessed with much luck at all, “you had to fight for what you got” and still you’d just get it taken away from you again. I was in a very bad place and be the only thing keeping me going and that’s how I knew I had to get out, make something of my gift and share it with the world. So I did just that. When I hear my name being compared with hip – hop icons like Nicki Minaj, apart from being completely honoured it also makes me think that I proved everyone wrong, everyone who told me I Couldn’t do it, well look at me now!’
Like most other globally successful stars, Miss – X has had a lot of support not only from her adoring fans, but from her family and friends also. ‘It’s a great feeling’, Miss – X’ explains, ‘Knowing so many people are behind you and want you to do well, even people you don’t Know and probably will never meet. My family have been unbelievably supportive, they’re my biggest fans and I will be eternally grateful for how much they have sacrificed for me.’
After fifteen months of hard work, Miss – X finally released her passion filled album ‘Empire’. Despite the fact her music falls into the hip-hop category, Miss –X also incorporated a lot of R&B and a splash of soul into her creative work of art. ‘I like to make my tracks fresh you know? Include something everyone can relate to. Naturally I have a lot of Rhythm and Blues in my voice and I grew up listening to a lot of soul music so I guess that’s where I got that from. I like making my sound creative and unique, something nobody else would have thought of and I can tell you know there are a few more unexpected twists in my Album other than this.’
Critics say she is arguably one of the strongest female voices to emerge in hip-hop in the last decade. We all love her music without a doubt but some people are not too sure on what to make about her outfits featuring in the music videos for her album ‘Empire’. “I don’t mind being called odd or strange”, says Miss – X “At least it means nobody’s about to steal my Swag any time soon. I can’t be anybody but myself and I think it just makes me unique, I guess my style reflects the excitement in my music and I find I end up touching a lot more people who might never have paid much attention to a female rapper. ”
Other than a fusion of music and styles we also understand that’s not all she’s created. Miss – X put her creative mind to work alongside multi- award winning, American, Rapper, Songwriter, ‘Lil Wayne’ and together they produced the hit song ‘Dynamite’; she then went on to collaborate with other artists such as Rihanna, Will.I.AM, and Jessie J. ‘It’s been really hard to get my head around it’ says MISS-X. ‘One minute I’m Killing beats in the studio, working hard and just having fun, the next I’m receiving offers! I was shocked these people even new me. I’m getting used to it now though; it just feels right, like this is what I am supposed to be doing. Each week I’m getting inundated with feature requests and it’s just crazy, you’ve gotta find a balance though, just focus on a few that are closer home in terms of your music.
As a result of her rapid musical success, The ‘Empire’ star is due to headline her first UK tour in January 2012 starting in London. She will be showcasing her music for a period of 6 months and will be joined by many of the artists she has collaborated with! The Box office will open on December the 1st so make sure you check in to support the new face of hip-hop! ‘MISS – X!’
Sunday 20 November 2011
Analysis of a music article
12E Md Music Article Exercise:
Aim: to identify the style and content of music reviews in preparation for producing your double page spread.
1. What do you think is the relevance of the term ‘Talking Top Shop Blues’?
-‘blues’ suggests that the genre of music she plays is ‘bluesy, indie’
-‘top shop’, where she used to work.
-use of alliteration
2. How many columns are there?
-3
3. How many images?
-1
4. What connotations does the image give of the artist and the content of the article?
The image is quite an unusual, creative image which could suggest the style of her music; there is quite a gothic look with the long black hair either side of her face which suggests her music is quite serious. The serious look on her face also connotes this.
5. What are your initial impressions of this music feature?
-my initial impressions are that her music is quite deep and not very light hearted. That a lot of her life has been put into the songs.
6. What techniques does the writer use in the first sentence to engage the reader?
-He compares her to other artists who have been really successful in the music industry really quickly the past few years which highlights how talented she must be. This makes the reader think that maybe the article will be worth reading.
-the fact he compares her to people we already know about makes it relevant to us.
-we also know what to expect
7. What does ‘ubiquity’ mean?
-ubiquity means that she is everywhere; everybody is starting to here about her.
8. What is the focus of paragraph one?
-Her new album
-songs and singing ability
9. What technique features in Maguire’s quote in paragraph two?
-repetition
10. In paragraph two, how is Maguire made to sound like an average person?
-‘Suffering from a cold and nursing a fruit tea in a café in Brixton’ – makes her seem ‘human’ and down to earth.
11. What is the focus of paragraph three?
- Her family life and how she grew up
12. What do you think is exaggerated in paragraph three?
- The bluesy genre of her music
13. In paragraph five, what point is made about Maguire’s relationship with music?
-it’s a form of therapy for her
Friday 18 November 2011
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