Amplify Dot
A.Dot (born Ashley Charles; 9 April 1988) also known as Amplify Dot, A.Dot or Dotty, is a rapper and broadcaster from South London, England.
She is currently a radio presenter on BBC Radio 1Xtra and an A&R consultant at the Parlophone record label.[1]
Career
In June 2001, at the age of thirteen, Amplify Dot performed a freestyle at a Missy Elliott concert at the Brixton Academy after Elliott asked if anyone in the audience could rap.[2][3] She describes this as a defining moment that led her to pursue a career as a professional artist.[4]
Amplify Dot gradually built a reputation in the UK grime and hip hop scenes, featuring on the grime track "Game Over Female Takeover" (2010), and self-releasing the mixtape Born Ready (2011)[5] and the EP Short Back and Sides (2012), which entered the iTunes Hip Hop Chart.[6] She also launched her own clothing label, Quiff Head, in conjunction with London street-wear brand House of Hoxshore.[7]
In June 2012, Amplify Dot signed a recording contract with Virgin Records and a publishing contract with Sony ATV, with Music Week reporting that she was the first female rapper in the UK to secure a major-label deal in over a decade.[8] Soon after signing to Virgin, she released the Spare Parts mixtape,[9] which she said contained tracks that were not going to make the cut for her debut album but that she was still keen for people to hear.[10] This was followed in 2013 by the Spare Parts II mixtape hosted by UK radio personality Charlie Sloth.[11] In December 2013 she presented her own radio show as part of the Xtra Talent series on BBC Radio 1Xtra and was offered a full-time position in 2014. She has continued to work with the station, currently hosting the weekday-breakfast program 'The Dotty Show'[12]
Amplify Dot has collaborated with artists and producers including Busta Rhymes, Emeli Sandé, Zane Lowe, Krunchie, Show N Prove, Chris Loco, Fraser T. Smith, Midi Mafia, Beatfreakz, Kano, Gyptian, and Ms Dynamite. She has also performed with Lioness and Lady Leshurr as part of the all-female crew 367, including on a remix of the Ms Dynamite single "Neva Soft" (2011).[13]
Discography
- Born Ready (2011) Mixtape
- Short Back and Sides (2012) EP
- Spare Parts (2012) Mixtape
- Spare Parts II (2013) Mixtape
Singles
- "Get Down" (2012)
- "Kurt Cobain" (2013)
- "I'm Good" feat. Busta Rhymes (2013)
References
- ↑ http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/ashley-charles-appointed-a-r-consultant-at-parlophone/061313
- ↑ Music Week.
- ↑ On the talent contest that formed part of Elliot's Brixton Academy show, see Maddy Costa, "The Missy Elliott love-in," The Guardian, 2 June 2001. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ↑ MTV Iggy.
- ↑ Born Ready.
- ↑ Music Week.
- ↑ Quiff Head.
- ↑ Music Week.
- ↑ Spare Parts.
- ↑ MOBO.
- ↑ Spare Parts II.
- ↑ 1Xtra.
- ↑ "Ms Dynamite Feat. Amplify Dot, Lady Leshurr and Lioness – Neva Soft (Remix)," Archived February 25, 2015, at the Wayback Machine. SME. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
