MDMArchive was proud to bring two important panels to Louder than War Festival in November 2023, hosted by our very own Karen Gabay, Trustee and award-winning producer for TV and Radio. The first celebrating the return of our Black Female Voices panel from 2017, where the leading black women from Manchester explore their work as vocalists, songwriters and producers and openly discuss the difficulties of the industry and challenges, to a packed and appreciative audience on the Saturday, starring left to right on the video Sylvia Tella, Cleopatra Madonna Higgins, Yvonne Shelton and Melanie Williams.
On the Sunday we celebrated 50 years of Hip-Hop and shone a light on two important women in Hip-Hop culture from Manchester, and the amazing previously unheard stories of starting out, changes in perceptions of women in the industry and in hip hop more centrally. Celebrating the first black hip-hop woman to be signed to a record label from Manchester, Martay McKenzie,- who was signed at the age of 13 and is now an in-demand songwriter, performer and West End star - and OneDa, who is currently breaking down barriers for women and non-binary artists in Manchester and gaining great acclaim with her unique lyrical and performance style.