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A solo music artist from St Albans has been presented with a prestigious award from the Arts Council, which rewards talented musicians from ethnic minorities in the home counties.

Jennifer Dong (aka Lady Destiny)

Jennifer Dong, aka Lady Destiny, produces songs in the Dubstep / Electro Garage genre, and has been awarded a grant of 拢5,000, which will go towards producing an EP.

The 23-year-old, who got involved in the garage scene at just 15, is three quarters Chinese and uses influences from her background in her music.

But since a deal with Arista BMG fell through when she was just 17, she has been pursuing her music alongside her education and obtained a First Class Honours degree in Music and Business Management at the London Metropolitan University. She is currently doing a post-graduate Diploma of Law where she specialises in Contract Law, something that is intended to help her with a career in the music business.

She hopes that this grant will help get her music back out there again so that she can get another deal.

We spoke to her about her music, how she got the grant and what she is spending the money on!

How would you describe your music?

Jennifer: I'd say it's garage style mixed with a genre called dub step which is relatively new. It's a kind of a borderline genre of electro music. It has influences of reggae, dub, soul and electro dance music.

There's quite a mixture going on there - how did it all start for you?

Jennifer: When I was about 15 I started in the UK garage scene as an MC and I used to like singing as well. Then I got signed at around 17 to Arista BMG but unfortunately the producers that I was working with let me down in a big way and the deal eventually fell through.

After that I went on to do my own thing. I wanted to get into the music business and find out a bit more about it so that I could take control over my music so I did a degree in Music and Media Business Management at London Metropolitan University. I graduated there last December with First Class Honours.

Jennifer Dong (aka Lady Destiny)

So you started off MC-ing on the garage scene 鈥� can you remember what made you actually want to do that?

Jennifer: I was always into dance music from a young age, and then when I go to about 13 or 14 I started writing poems. Then UK garage came along. I started putting voicemail messages on my phone with me MC-ing and it kind of grew from there. I started MC-ing at parties in the local area, for friends in St Albans and Harpenden and I built up a little reputation of being the first girl MC in my area which was quite fun.

So I got into garage from there and then it was a case of networking. I started performing at under 18 nightclubs in and around North and West London and from then on it was about meeting people and being recommended.

As a girl MC, were you in a minority?

Jennifer: Definitely, because at that age, Miss Dynamite and Estelle and people like that hadn鈥檛 had anything out, but it was quite nice actually. It was interesting - you felt proud because you were representing the girls when you were up on the microphone, but at the same time there were down falls because you鈥檝e got boys saying 鈥渨hat鈥檚 she doing that for?鈥� Also, at 15 I had a higher pitched voice so it was a bit squeaky!

And also you are part Chinese so you were in another minority as well?

Jennifer: Yes, I鈥檓 戮 Chinese. My mum鈥檚 full Chinese and my dad鈥檚 half Chinese but I was born and raised in England. So, having a female MC is rare and the majority of them are black, and then you might have someone who is white, but when they see I鈥檓 Chinese they鈥檙e like 鈥淲hat?!鈥� But I quite like that though 鈥� I like being unique in my own way and being a bit different.

Has that background influenced your music at all?

Jennifer: Definitely. I do try and put in some Chinese lyrics every so often, I鈥檓 not fluent but my mum does try to teach me the odd sentence and words in Cantonese. Similarly my mum listens to tons of Chinese music so I try to incorporate some of those sounds as well in my music.

So you had a deal that fell through and very sensibly you decided to get an education to go along side your music? And now you鈥檙e reading music law?

Jennifer: Yes I鈥檓 doing a graduate Diploma of Law but my main area is Contract Law and I want to get into Music Law so that I know a bit more about the industry.

When I first started I thought I鈥檝e got to get the best of both worlds and keep it going. It鈥檚 good to have something to fall back on, it makes me feel more comfortable with things. With music, one minute you鈥檙e on top of the world and everything is going perfectly and then something happens. With the deal I learned the hard way so I want to make sure I鈥檝e got a back-up now!

So, you were doing your music just for your enjoyment and now you鈥檝e won this award. They were looking for people in the Home Counties of ethnic minorities and you were put forward and granted 拢5,000!

Jennifer: Yes. It took about two years to get it because it was a lot of paperwork and a lot of attending meetings but one lady called Kate from a company called Freeness (a new music initiative) helped me get the proposal written and really believed in my music and we got the proposal written up and submitted it.

The company got in touch with me through a producer that I was working with. They were looking for ethnic minority (although I don鈥檛 always like that word!) artists in Herts, Beds and Bucks who were doing dance music. So I got in touch with them and my proposal was successful and I got the grant.

What are you doing with the 拢5,000?

Jennifer: We鈥檝e got a big proposal written up and it covers the production of an EP. It鈥檚 going to be five tracks so the money is going to go towards things like production costs, mastering costs, a revamp of my MySpace site and artwork for the CD - I鈥檝e got a new cool manga image logo to reflect my Chinese background.

I鈥檝e also got a manager called David Laub who manages artists such as rap group Roll Deep Crew and Leon Jean Marie, and he鈥檚 costing a certain proportion of it to mentor me throughout the whole project and to see it through.

The money is also going towards the promotion side of getting my music out there, sending it to independent labels and key personnel in the music industry, just to try and get myself a deal again!

Did you have to say what you鈥檇 spend the money on?

Jennifer: Yes 鈥� it鈥檚 quite strict, you鈥檝e got to literally say down to the last penny what you鈥檙e going to be spending it on and also do a timeline. But everything鈥檚 written down so they can see that you鈥檙e not going to go off on holiday or buy a new car!

Your degree must have helped with that?

Jennifer: Yes 鈥� definitely. They [the Arts Council] ask to see your CV as well, to get an idea of you as a person, and my degree and my knowledge of the music industry and the business side of things helped 鈥� they know that I鈥檓 relatively reliable!

What鈥檚 the EP going to be like?

Jennifer: It鈥檚 going to be all focussed around Dub Step and Electro music and it features a variety of different producers. There鈥檚 going to be a group called Bugz in the Attic, Roll Deep, Benga and possibly one more that I鈥檓 trying to select and it鈥檚 going to be me singing as well as MC- ing 鈥� a mixture of both! It鈥檚 also a bit kind of Trip Hop style 鈥� like Portishead.

Do you prefer singing or MC-ing?

Jennifer: It鈥檚 a bit of both. At 15 I was MC-ing and that鈥檚 what I got known for and being a minority female MC I ended up doing more of that but as I鈥檝e got older I love singing. Even if I wasn鈥檛 doing it properly with music I鈥檇 just sing all the time anyway in the bath or something! They are both equal in a sense but as I鈥檝e done loads of MC-ing in the past, at the moment singing is at the forefront of my interest.

You鈥檝e worked with Miss Dynamite and met Estelle, but who in an ideal world would you like to work with?

Jennifer: Wow 鈥� there鈥檚 loads of people! Gwen Stefani 鈥� I love her music! Producers like The Prodigy. Madonna 鈥� that would be an interesting mix but I love Madonna 鈥� and also Portishead, I love their music, they鈥檙e so creative.

What鈥檚 your ultimate ambition?

Jennifer: It would be to be successful with my music. Obviously with music artists there is a kind of timeline to when you鈥檝e got to stop doing the music side of things, but I鈥檇 love to make it as a full time singer / MC artist. Then eventually, when that comes to an end, I鈥檇 like to have my own music business and incorporate my knowledge of the performing side with the background of my degree.

What do you think you鈥檇 be doing if you hadn鈥檛 been awarded this grant?

Jennifer: Without the music grant I鈥檇 still be doing my music on the side because I enjoy it and I love it, but the money has just given me that platform for me to get my music out there and I really appreciate it!