When Diahann Topping – aka Dee – stepped up to the mic at The Spitz venue in May 2004, she had no idea just how positively the crowd would react.
“It was amazing,” the Hackney-based singer-songwriter recalls. “Everyone was feeling it. When I stepped off stage, I was swamped with people!”
Dee’s live show was the culmination of a pilot project conceived by CIDA and Prevista, and funded by Business Link for London’s Equal programme. Dubbed The Xchange, it gave eight budding musicians and music producers from black and other minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds the chance to develop their careers. Throughout spring 2004, they received specialist advice about the music industry and attended business development workshops as they worked towards a final showcase event.
The live show came at a critical stage in Dee’s life: “In the back of my mind, I was wondering if this would be the last (gig),” she says. “I knew I couldn’t just do music as a hobby, but I didn’t know if I could really make it. That reaction changed everything. I practically got signed that night.”
Dee was approached after the gig by Tommy Boy Records, but ultimately decided to sign for another interested party, new label Likeants Entertainment. She has since been hard at work in the recording studio. Her debut EP, Miss Music, will be released on 26th June 2005 at a special return show at The Spitz.
Looking back, Dee has fond memories of The Xchange. It was, she says, rewarding to work alongside other budding musicians.
“It was interesting to hear all their different opinions,” she explains. “A few people weren’t sure how the project would help them at first, but we all found it useful in different ways. I always knew I had to make the most of the opportunity”
Dee had taken a music business course some years previously, but says The Xchange specialist advisers gave her a fresh insight into the industry, and instilled a new confidence in her own abilities.
“All good advice is appreciated,” she says. “CIDA has explained how many options there are for us – and it’s really opened my eyes. We now have meetings and talk about different things: distribution, promotion, the whole direction of Dee.”
In less than a year, the talented hopeful has developed into a signed artist, equipped with a range of practical skills to face the music industry. And with Andy still closely involved in her progress, Dee knows she has CIDA’s continued support for the foreseeable future.
“I’m really fortunate,” she says. “I have people all around who have worked so hard for me. They’ve given me that chance – now I want to do the best I can.”
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