Molly's Music

Black History Month  Evelyn Dove Quick Fact File: Born: 11th January 1902 Died: 7th March 1987 Occupation: Singer, Actress Evelyn Dove’s reputation increasingly grew in Britain through working with the BBC in the 1940s and through performing internationally with places including France, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Hungary, United States, India and Spain. Education and Early Career: Dove studied piano, voice and elocution whilst at the Royal Academy of Music. Upon graduating, Dove realised that the Classical music scene wasn’t inviting to a female singer of mixed race.  Dove continued to show her motivation and determination for success who practiced Cabaret and Jazz shows in London as a member of the Southern Syncopated Orchestra. Her break into the music scene came in the black jazz revue chocolate Kiddies. Working with the BBC: She became most successful in 1939 as she joined folk singer Edric Connor on BBC Radio’s Serenade in Sepia. This series lasted a decade...

Black History Month  Eric Garner SIX years after the death of Eric Garner in 2014, the World is facing another tragic death. George Floyd was killed on 25th May by police officers after he was pinned onto the floor by three policemen. His tragic death shocked viewers all across the country but many did not realise that this same death has been seen before. Eric Garner, in 2014, died after a New York City Police Department officer put him in a prohibited chokehold during his arrest. Like George Floyd, video footage of Eric Garner’s death created widespread national attention and raised questions on the use of force by law enforcement. His final words were also “I can’t Breathe” that was repeated 11 times whilst he was lying face down on the sidewalk. He lost consciousness and remained lying on the sidewalk for seven minutes while the officers waited for an ambulance to arrive. Eric Garner’s death caused an increase in media and popular culture surrounding the Black Lives Matter mov...

  Black History Month Black Lives Matter Movement, Pt 2 With History comes Music, the two are correlative. It can be seen in the French Revolution when aristocrats lost their fortune and could no longer afford musicians, the concert hall began to rise in popularity creating a new atmosphere for composers where they could be as patriotic as they wished. It can be seen with technology. As the world developed their technology, music developed alongside it, using the different available technology to create and change their sound. Like all of these moments in time, the Black Lives Matter movement changed and developed music. A range of artists are at the forefront of this development with musicians like Beyonce and Kendrick Lamar centering some of their songs on the issue of race and injustice. Another word for it is protest music. Beyonce’s performance during the Super Bowl interval can be argued as the starting point of this new type of music. Her performance was a pro-capitalist, bl...

Black History Month  Black Lives Matter Movement, Pt 1 The ongoing racial movement of Black Lives Matter has seen the rise of fame and increased political nature of popular artists. Artists of high profile have released music that have become anthems for protests and/or open-ended conversation starters for racism. This led to a new generation of musicians that used their talent and music to address racism, violence, injustices and disillusionment.  This post aims to explore some of the artists who have addressed the Black Lives Matter movement through their songs and how they hope to use Music to force people into rethinking and re-evaluating their own attitudes and behaviours.  Better Days - Victoria Monet featuring Ariana Grande Victoria Monet collaborated with Ariana Grande to create an optimistic, tender duet serving as a call for a better and brighter future. It was released in 2017 following the murders of Philando Castile and Alton Sterling. Both at the hands of po...

Black History Month Diversity Diversity, formed in 2007, is a British street Dance group who rose to fame following their win on Britain’s Got Talent in 2009. The group included a range of talented dancers including those who were still at school or university whilst others had jobs of their own. Diversity’s dances are choreographed by Ashley Banjo who also dances within the group.  More recently, Diversity performed on Britain’s Got Talent following the murder of George Floyd and the protests on the injustices in the system. Their dance on the Black Lives Matter movement was an emotive and clearly topic issue that every country is facing. It saw them pausing during the routine to take a knee, a marker that signifies support for Black Lives Matter.  Alongside the powerful dance was the moving words that could be heard in the song. It began with a voice over of a conversation between a father and son where the state of the world was being explained. It then zooms in to the curr...

Black History Month  A Letter to the World - Leah Music Leah Music at only 16 years old has moved the world with her powerful message on the injustices surrounding racial discrimination. Following the killing of George Floyd by a US police officer on 25th May, Leah Music composed and shared an original song in response to his death and the subsequent protests. The release of her song with a clip on Instagram attracted worldwide attention with celebrities praising her talent including Billie Eilish, Jorja Smith and Tion Wayne. Since its release on Instagram on the 11th June, Leah has received 21,889 views with nearly 8000 likes. All of the proceeds of her debut single is being donated to causes that support the current Black Lives Matter movement and she hopes to raise £10,000 in order to support the movement I urge you all to go take a listen to her song and really listen to the words and the meaning behind it. Everyone can learn a thing or two from this talented young singer/songw...

Black History Month  Stormzy Quick Fact File: Born: 26th July 1993 Years Active: 2010 - present Full name: Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. Occupation: Singer, Song Genres: British Hip Hop, Grime, R&B, Gospel Range: F#3 - C#5 Website: https://www.stormzy.com/ Childhood: Stormzy did not come from a particularly musical household with the exception of his cousin, Nadia Rose, who is also a rapper. He began rapping at the age of 11 and would often clash with older rappers at his local youth club. As a school child, Stormzy was a naughty child and was on the verge of getting expelled. He did well in his exams with results of six A*s, three As and five Bs in his GCSEs. He also received ABCDE in his A Levels. He followed school by studying for an apprenticeship in Warwickshire before working in quality assurance for two years. Stormzy’s Music: Stormzy began making videos on his Youtube channel in 2011 which is how he originally rose to fame. When he began sharing his Wicken Sken...

Black History Month   Whitney Houston I wanted to look at a range of artists during Black History Month including composers (both from previous eras and from today), singers who were influential in their day and those still successful and working today. I've already posted three blog posts on Black Composers and so today's post is going to focus on a more recent singer who rose to fame in her late teens and continues to be one of the most successful and well known singers in our society today..... Whitney Houston! Quick Fact File: Born: August 9th, 1963 Died: February 11th, 2012 Years Active: 1977 - 2012 Occupation: Singer, Actress, Film producer, Model Genres: R&B, Pop, Soul, Gospel, Dance Range: Mezzo-Soprano Website: whitneyhouston.com Childhood: Whitney Houston seemed to be a singer from birth - her mother and cousin were legendary figures in American gospel, soul and pop music showing skill through her family. Her mother was the choir minister at New Hope Baptist Churc...