At the heart of this performance stands Lady Leshurr, a luminary of grime whose razor-sharp lyricism has earned her a cult following far beyond her native Birmingham. From her viral ‘Queen’s Speech‘ series to her MOBO Award for Best Female Act in 2016, Leshurr has continually pushed the boundaries of grime, blending humour, social commentary, and bold wordplay.

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Joining her is an eclectic roster of local heavyweights, including Jaykae, Big Dog Yogo, and RoxXxan. Together, they form a sonic tapestry that reflects Birmingham’s kaleidoscopic identity, one shaped by migration, industry, and resilience.

The concept of LEGACY is as much about music as it is about bridging divides—of class, culture, and sound. It is also a testament to Birmingham’s unique position as a city perpetually reinventing itself.

Grime—a genre born in the council estates of East London but now deeply embedded in Birmingham’s DNA—is not a natural bedfellow for classical music. The former thrives on raw immediacy, the latter on careful deliberation. Yet, it is in their contrast that LEGACY will hopefully find its power. Tracks like Lady Leshurr’s ‘Queen’s Speech’ and Jaykae’s ‘Toothache’ will be reimagined with lush strings and brass, while the CBSO’s repertoire will embrace grime’s infectious rhythms and stark honesty.

Emma Stenning, the orchestra’s chief executive, described grime as one of Birmingham’s “defining musical languages” and expressed hope that the collaboration would offer “new perspectives.”

The event is part of a wider endeavour to make orchestral music more accessible, as Stenning is quoted noting: “How do we make the symphony hall more welcoming and a place where people feel comfortable and themselves and how do we protect that space so that it is right for artists and so that people engage in the music in the best possible way?”

As Symphony Hall fills on April 12, the audience will reflect Birmingham’s shifting demographics: grime enthusiasts mingling with classical aficionados, young faces next to seasoned concertgoers. The music will, with any luck, provide the bridge, transcending genre and expectation.

“LEGACY” will feature performances by 15 of Birmingham’s leading music artists, including:

Lady Leshurr
Big Dog Yogo
Jaykae
Sox
C4
RoxXxan
Saf One
Trilla
T Roadz
Mayhem
Brixx
CreezOn
NODB (Ace 1, Fiasqo, Fist RS)
Pressure0121
Trappy

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The Icon award has been a category recognized by the event for previous years, in 2018 the accolade was awarded to Garbage frontwoman Shirley Manson and in 2020 grunge icon Courtney Love was awarded the prize. The award is bestowed to those who have earned the title through their work within the music, fashion and culture. With a discography full of highly influential records and a career spanning three decades, Cherry is the epitome of an Icon.

The 57-year-old artist has provided the following statement concerning her win, “Life is a series of ups and downs – along the way I’ve tried to get better at loving myself but ultimately it’s the love from others given then received that makes that possible, I’ve just tried to hold my corner and serve with truth, all made possible by the great visionaries I’ve come up and collaborated with along the way – you know what they say… it takes a village. To wake up one day to hear I’m being given an Icon Award seems crazy, but I’ll take it with great honour, so thank you NME.”

Cherry first made her name within the punk rock scene in London, during the early 1980’s she was part of Rip Rig + Panic and the legendary group The Slits. Her first major breakthrough came with the release of her debut album Raw Like Sushi, the 1989 album sired her best-loved track “Buffalo Stance”. The single gained critical acclaim through its incorporation of different genres and is known as a hybrid of hip-hop, electronica and pop.

The Swedish hitmaker is no stranger to accolades, Cherry won two Brit awards in 1990 for Best International Breakthrough and Best International Solo Artist. She was also nominated in 1990 for Best Video for single “Manchild”, Cherry was also nominated in 1991 and 1997 for the Brit award of Best International Female. The singer was also nominated for a Grammy Award in 1990 for Best New Artist and won the MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song for “7 Seconds” in 1994.

The annual awards show continues to be an important tradition within popular music, the show was first held in 1953 and was initially named the NME Poll Winners Concerts. Since its inception, the awards have grown into a British institution and have held importance through various genres of music including the 90’s Britpop era. Through its expansive multiple awards categories were added, the ceremony now includes 34 categories within their global nominations, 6 categories of UK nominations, 5 prizes for nominations in Asia and Australia.

The awards ceremony will be co-hosted by Daisy May Cooper and Lady Leshurr and will feature performances by Sam Fender, Rina Sawayama, Griff, BERWYN and Chvrches. This year’s event will also celebrate another musical icon, The Cure’s frontman Robert Smith will join the other performers in March. Despite many winners already named, music fans are still able to cast their vote for two categories, Hero of the Year and Villain of the year.

Click here to purchase tickets.

Click here to vote for Hero of the Year and Villain of the Year.

The video, which was ‘Directed by Spike Leesh. Shot & edited by Jay Goodz,‘ and ‘Produced by Dusty Goodz,’ is simply filmed with a single camera following the rapper as she moves around the mansion telling the story portrayed in the lyrics, yet features a number of nice touches like freeze frames as well as some typical characteristics which have been cropping up in rap videos recently such as the lyrics being displayed on screen in sync with the music so that the effect of a lyric video is amalgamated into the broader music video. 

Lady Leshurr has managed to remain productive throughout 2020, despite facing many of the same issues as all artists have this year, including tours and gigs being cancelled and the usual face-to-face interactions with fans being made impossible. The rapper managed to take inspiration for the year’s events, releasing her second album full length album ‘Quarenqueen,’ in June. The album, which follows 2013’s Mona Leshurr, deals entirely with themes current to 2020 including songs with titles like ‘Quarantine Speech,’ ‘Isolation,’ ‘Ms Rona,’ and ‘Lockdown.’

On top of this, continuing the productivity despite circumstances, Lady Leshurr has treated fans to an EP released in December called ‘Astronaut EP.’ The EP, many will be relieved to know is not an album written entirely about coronavirus, a subject which the vast majority of us by now are well and truly sick of, the EP instead deals with some of the more familiar tropes found in rap music with tracks like ‘Money,’ ‘DIV,’ and ‘Fake Flex,’ oozing with acerbic wit and attitude.

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As well as putting out a high quality album, an EP and winning a British Empire Medal, 2020 has brought more pleasant surprises for fans of Lady Leshurr. According to Radio Times ‘Lady Leshurr is joining the Dancing on Ice 2021 line-up.’ While Dancing on Ice might not seem like the most obvious show for a rap artist to feature on, one must ask the question, why not?

The articulate Lady Leshurr has never been one for living up to stereotypes and is famously headstrong, even turning down a record deal with Kanye West, she has done much to create an image of respectability in the sometimes shady world of rap and helped bring the genre closer to the mainstream and by extension, the Dancing on Ice watching public. With the UK now embarking upon its third national lockdown with only a vague end date in sight, fans of Lady Leshurr will have to wait some time before seeing the ‘Astronaut EP,‘ performed live.

The release of Astronaut caps off an impressive birthday week for Leshurr, who has today been announced as a new host on BBC Radio 1Xtra. The MOBO award-winning songwriter reacted with delight to the news, citing her longstanding connection to the medium. She tweeted: “None of you guys know how crazy this is to me. I remember I quit my job just to spit bars on DJ Cameos show about 14 years ago cus I couldn’t get work off. Now I have my own show.@1xtrahave supported me from EARLY this is an honour for real.”

 A huge welcome to @LadyLeshurr who joins the 1Xtra family. Tune in Saturday afternoons 1-4pm pic.twitter.com/YBLhUpaWXR

— BBC Radio 1Xtra (@1Xtra) December 17, 2020

2020 has been quite a year for the multi-talented Leshurr, who was awarded a British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to music and charity. In June the Solihull-born grime star released a short lockdown-inspired EP (Quaranqueen); spawning two singles in Quarantine Speech and Quaranting; the latter featuring Jamaican reggae-dancehall artist Busy Signal.

She followed this up in August with the fourth instalment in her autobiographical Unleshed series, which first kicked off back in 2016. Unleshed 4 saw Leshurr adopt a distinctly raw and solemn tone as she reflected on the tragic death of her sister Carmen (“Miss my sis and her silliest ways/Broke down crying when I seen her in pain…My mom lost her mom and her daughter within 5 months/ Please Lord no no more cus I can’t take it”). Shortly afterwards the freestyle specialist also joined Yates for a collaboration on Up In Smoke, a new track from controversial Birmingham act Remtrex’s latest album Bars From The Pen.

In addition to promoting the new EP, Leshurr will begin 2021 by donning her ice skates. The rapper – who is no stranger to small screen audiences following her appearances on Celebrity Masterchef and Ghost Bus Tours this year – will now compete in ITV’s traditional New Year showcase Dancing On Ice. Leshurr, who is partnered with American professional Brendyn Hatfield, will hope to see off eleven other celebrity challengers (including Aussie cult hero Jason Donovan and Hear’Say’s Myleene Klass) to become the show’s thirteenth champion.

Leshurr – real name Melesha Katrina O’Garro – will also play a leading role in the nationwide advertising campaign for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Speaking to The Voice Online about her role in the official publicity drive, she said “Obviously, Brum is always gonna be in my blood, in my veins. I scream it everywhere I go, no matter where I am in the world. I always do a song and say I’m from Birmingham. I think we’re fearless, we stand down to no one, we create our own opportunities. I want people to remember us for being light-hearted, always having a good time, but just know that we’re serious when it comes to the talent.”

Leshurr added: “I don’t think I’d be the same person if I wasn’t from Birmingham. The sense of humour, the personality and the banter is next scale. I can always tell from someone’s energy if they have been brought up in Birmingham. I think we just bring so much to the table.”