The URBRUM team have been searching for Birmingham’s talent and we were successful in finding just that. Here is the interview Chanelle Yearwood undertook with an up and coming solo artist by the name of MS Martha J.  URBRUM took time out with Ms Martha J to listen to her story on her success as an up and coming solo artist in Birmingham. She gave us a tale of inspiration, organisation, appreciation and people helping each other out.

URBRUM: So Ms Martha J when did you start singing seriously?

Ms Martha J: I have always written songs but never went as far as recording them because I didn’t really take it seriously, I just liked doing it. I was, however, in a group called ‘Anaiah Music’, where we did live performances but never really got round to recording because our timetables always clashed. It grew more and more difficult to get rehearsal times we could all commit to, so unfortunately we had to stop.  I would say I started taking singing seriously as a soloist in September 2011 when one of my friends Stefan ‘DJ 4Real’ Davis was working on a Christian Dubstep project called ‘True Paradox’ and he asked me to jump on it. I also had the opportunity of working with a Birmingham based Christian organisation called GL360, who often host events that are well supported. I was able to sing at their most recent event and from that I had a lot of positive feedback and encouragement which was lovely. I think that’s what made me think, yeah, I’m going to take this up seriously, and it seemed like my singing was appreciated and supported which was very humbling.

URBRUM: Which artists would you say are your major influences?

Ms Martha J:  I wouldn’t really say I have any artists that are my major influences, although there is this group called the Clarke sisters who are old school, and their harmonies are on point and I do love their music, but I don’t sing like that.

URBRUM: What kind of music do you listen to?

Ms Martha J: I like a lot of music, not just U.K. I like Afro beats, Reggaeton, Soulful House and I love Celtic music, it’s so tranquil but my three favourite types of music would be Vocal garage, Reggae and piano solos (minimalist pieces).

URBRUM: Do you see entertainment as a career? If not what do you see yourself doing in the future?

Ms Martha J: You know how some artists live, eat and breathe music for breakfast, that’s not really me, I like to do it but that’s not really my priority. My future career, God willing would be database development and programming, I love computing and that’s part of what I’m a studying for my degree (Business Information Systems).

URBRUM: Do you class what you do as a hobby?

Ms Martha J: It’s not really a hobby, it’s just something that I like to do, to be able to express my thoughts, feelings and faith, and give out a positive message which I think is a good thing especially in today’s society.

URBRUM: What methods do you use to highlight your talents?

Ms Martha J:  A couple of years ago I used to MC, but I don’t do that anymore. GL360 are the main driving force in pushing my music out there having worked on two of their project so far. There are a lot of social media sites out there like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter,  blah blah blah  there is so much online stuff you can do, it’s all about networking, there is so much available these days.

URBRUM: Does singing help when you’re feeling a bit low or do you take time out until you feel inspired again?

Ms Martha J:  When I write my songs I get my inspiration from an experience: something I’ve read in the Bible, something  someone has told me, or something  I’ve  learnt. If I’m annoyed about a situation that’s not too serious, then I would normally just write a poem because it helps me put my annoyance into the poem but if it’s something that’s deeply stressful or bugging me, I pray about it and leave it with God.

URBRUM: What message do you aim to send out to your audience?

Ms Martha J:  Mainly the good news of the Gospel and positive living.

Interviewer: What do class your music as?

Ms Martha J: My gosh, well at the moment I’m a new artist so since late September I’ve made two songs: one is Drum n Base, and the latest song is like a mix between R’N’B and Funky House, I don’t know how that works, it’s called ‘WWJD’, when you hear it your be like oh ok but I don’t class myself as a Hip Hop artist, R’n’B artist, Soul artist etc. I don’t think I have found my genre, I wouldn’t put myself in a category as yet because I like a wide range of music.

URBRUM: What do you do to relax and do you have any hobbies?

Ms Martha J: I’m really close with like family and my set of girls. So us girls will  go to restaurants and have a chin-wag or book a hotel and have a girly sleepover which may involve doing our nails, hair and makeup you know the girly stuff, oh and of course  shopping, yeah I love shopping.  Hobbies, I go to the gym sometimes although I jog more than I attend the gym, I do try and keep the fit and healthy stuff in my schedule.

URBRUM: Your video is of very high standard do you have any advice for people that would like to do the same as yourself?

Ms Martha J;  When you’re thinking of  pushing out  a video, make sure that the  team you intend to work  with will be 100% on pushing it, and that they have good networks; if they don’t you go out there find some yourself. You need to be constantly promoting it. Sometimes you may put something out once and it gets left behind, but if you push it that little bit more people will notice, so it’s just little things like that. Also when it comes to stuff like organisations, companies and communities find out what events they’re organising and grab on to them. Video wise it can be very tiring but fun, the main thing to do is to enjoy it and push on, and don’t be shy in front of the camera because it will be noticed. Be confident in what you’re doing, and that’s something that I am starting to learn because there have been times where I’ve looked back at a video and thought I should have just done this and that.

URBRUM: finally when will then next video be out?

Ms Martha J:  My gosh, well at the moment I’m finishing of  my finals at university so my hands are kind of tied, so I would say summer time, I won’t let on what kind track it will be, you will just have to stay posted and see.