Empire I (true name Miriam Moufide, also stage-named The Gangstress) is a singer, songwriter and social activist based in Kingston, Jamaica. Her musical style has been described as a blend of

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, hip hop,

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and World music. She is signed to Monumental Records and distributed by

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

and Zojak Worldwide.

Early life

Born in Wales to a Moroccan father and British mother, she was raised in Morocco. At age 7 she moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, where she lived with her 2 brothers, mother, and Ugandan/Yemeni stepfather. At the age of 16, Moufide moved to Costa Rica for school and began a four-year trip around the world, living with small and marginalised communities. Her love for music and anthropology led her to visit and live in 30 different countries, and to eventually put her experiences to music.

Activism and Charity

At 21 while in the Amazon rainforest attending the

Bumba Meu Boi Bumba Meu Boi is an interactive play celebrated in Brazil. It originated in the 18th century. It is a form of social criticism. Lower class Brazilians mock and criticize those of higher social status through a comedic Folklore story told in son ...

festival, she met members of the Rainbow Caravan for Peace and made the decision to join them as they visited indigenous villages and festivals. Drawing on her education in theatre, music and workshop facilitation she worked with them performing in street theatre and giving workshops on

bioregionalism Bioregionalism is a philosophy that suggests that political, cultural, and economic systems are more sustainable and just if they are organized around naturally defined areas called bioregions, similar to ecoregions. Bioregions are defined throug ...

permaculture Permaculture is an approach to land management and settlement design that adopts arrangements observed in flourishing natural ecosystems. It includes a set of design principles derived using whole-systems thinking. It applies these principle ...

, ecovillage design,

nutrition Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient n ...

and spiritual gatherings. Her lyrics often focus on social matters like women’s rights ("NANA Power"), building community ("Participate") and defending your dreams ("Get up on it", "Won't surrender"). The artist tries to use her international recognition to draw attention to issues that matter to her, by hosting and performing charitable events, especially in her home cities of

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The song ''S.O.S. To Freedom'' is currently being used in a campaign against human trafficking across the United States. You can also find her NANA Power song utilized in the Girls Action Foundation's, Light a Spark cause.

Musical career

Moufide, having taken the stage name ''Empire ISIS'', began making music while traveling in Jamaica, working with the legendary Jamaican musicians

Dean Fraser Dean Ivanhoe Fraser (sometimes appearing as Dean Frazer) (born 4 August 1957) Allmusic.com biography by Sandra Brennan/ref> is a Jamaican saxophonist who has contributed to hundreds of reggae recordings since the mid-1970s. He was awarded the Mu ...

and Chinna Smith, as well as Miami-based producers The Iconz. She recorded her debut album "Empress Gangstress" in part at Bob Marley's legendary

Tuff Gong Studios Tuff Gong is the brand name associated with a number of businesses started by Bob Marley and the Marley family. 'Tuff Gong' comes from Marley's nickname, which was in turn an echo of that given to founder of the Rastafari movement, Leonard " ...

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. It featured reggae singers Bushman and Half Pint. Empire ISIS has played in over 20 different countries, including Brazil, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Senegal and Canada and the American festivals

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

and

CMJ CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events and online media company, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music Monthly'' and ''CMJ New Music Report''. Th ...

. On her more recent albums, Empire I has worked and recorded with world-renowned producers like Prayon and

Kovas Kovasciar Myvette (born August 1, 1985), known by the stage name KOVAS, is an American songwriter, record producer, music composer and recording artist of Spanish and French descent (Central America and Morocco). He has produced and remixed ...

. As well as songwriting for Empire ISIS, she also writes under the name Miriam Moufide for other musicians and is published by

Cherry Lane Music Cherry Lane Music was an American music publisher based in New York. It was founded in 1960 by Milton Okun in the apartment above the Cherry Lane Theater in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York. Cherry Lane Music developed a wide range of high ...

and pigFACTORY Music. In June 2011, Empire I was voted into the "Wall of Fame" at the Montreal Hip Hop Summit and is now featured in the Montreal deck of "Legend Of The Fame" hip hop trading cards. In 2012, Empire I relocated to Jamaica where she has been touring and recording, collaborating with a variety of producers including Truckback, J.Hennessy, Sam Diggy, Frassman Brilli and Rebel Camp Entertainment. In 2016 Moufide changed her stage name to Empire I following issues with public confusion with the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...

frequently referred to in the media as "ISIS". She made the official announcement on the Jamaican program Onstage TV January 23, 2016.

Film and Television

2007 * Reggae Uncensored DVD, also featuring:

Damian "Junior Gong" Marley Damian Robert Nesta "Jr. Gong" Marley (born 21 July 1978) is a Jamaican DJ, singer, lyricist and rapper. He is the recipient of four Grammy Awards. Early life, education and family Damian Marley is the youngest son of reggae musician Bob Marl ...

, Sizzla Kalonji,

Sean Paul Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques OD (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican rapper and singer who is regarded as one of dancehall's most prolific artists. Paul's singles "Get Busy" and "Temperature" topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in the ...

Junior Reid Delroy "Junior" Reid (born 6 June 1963) is a Jamaican reggae and dancehall musician, best known for his featuring on the songs " One Blood", " It's Okay (One Blood)" and "This Is Why I'm Hot", as well as being the lead vocalist for Black Uhuru ...

, Mavado and

Collie Buddz Colin Patrick Harper (born August 21, 1981), better known by his stage name Collie Buddz, is a Bermudian reggae artist best known for his single "Come Around". Career Although Harper was born in New Dadyal Hospital, AJK. He studied audio enginee ...

2008-2009 *Gangstress Chronicles: Series of interviews by Empire ISIS for Quebec music channel

MusiquePlus Elle Fictions (stylized ELLE Fictions) is a Canadian French language specialty channel owned by Remstar Media Group. The channel broadcasts general entertainment programming targeting young adult women. It was first established in 1986 as the mus ...

featuring

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

, Janelle Monáe, U-God, Tricky,

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and fashion designer. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudi would move to New Yo ...

, Perez Hilton and others.

Song Placements

Born to Dance ''Born to Dance'' is an American musical film starring Eleanor Powell and James Stewart, directed by Roy Del Ruth and released in 1936 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The score was composed by Cole Porter. Plot summary While on leave, sailor Ted Bar ...

Bad Girls Club The Hills Khloé & Lamar

Shameless (American TV series) ''Shameless'' is an American comedy drama television series developed by John Wells that aired on Showtime from January 9, 2011, to April 11, 2021. It is an adaptation of Paul Abbott's British series of the same name and features an ensemble ...

Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, ...

Robson Arms ''Robson Arms'' is a Canadian television series that began airing on CTV on June 17, 2005 and ended on June 30, 2008. ''Robson Arms'' is a co-production between Vancouver-based Omni Film Productions Limited and Halifax's Creative Atlantic Commu ...

Notes from the Underbelly Good Christian Belle Make It Or Break It The City Seven Deadly Sins

Taking The Stage ''Taking the Stage'' is a musical reality show set at the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati, Ohio. It is produced by Nick Lachey Nicholas Scott Lachey ( ; born November 9, 1973) is an American singer, actor, television per ...

The Millers UJAMM Fitness The Catalina Girls

Discography

*Empress Gangstress (2005) ** featuring Half Pint and Bushman *Sound The Trumpets (2007) ** featuring Sizzla and

Turbulence In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulent flow is fluid motion characterized by chaotic changes in pressure and flow velocity. It is in contrast to a laminar flow, which occurs when a fluid flows in parallel layers, with no disruption between ...

*Brand New Style (2009) *Crack The Code (2011) *Back From The Dead (2017)

Singles

*Come With Me feat. Fafadi (2013) *Ignite Pink Wall Riddim (2013) *Haute Couture (2014) *Ina Da Streets (2014) *La Pongo feat. El Freaky (2014) *Fi Da Man Dem feat. El Freaky (2014) *Boom Boom (2017) *Beggi Beggi (2017)

Awards

Some awards and nominations Empire I has received are listed below. * Gala SOBA (

Sounds of Blackness Award Sounds of Blackness Award also known as S.O.B.A. or SOBA is an annual Canadian awards in hip hop and urban music in Quebec and Canada. SOBA was established by Ruddy B. Eloi, well-known from a French-language Quebec television series ''Watatatow'' ...

s) **2008: Winner – Best English Single of the Year **2008: Winner – Best World Music Music Artist of the Year *

GAMIQ The Alternative Independent Music Gala of Quebec (french: Gala alternatif de la musique indépendante du Québec; GAMIQ) is an award-giving event created in 2006. It rewards emerging artists from the Quebec music scene. The awards are granted aft ...

(Quebec Indie Music Awards) **2008: Nominee – Best World Album *

Hollywood Music Awards Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

**2008: Nominee – Best Pop Artist * International Reggae & World Music Awards **2005: Nominee – Most Promising Entertainer * Montreal Hip Hop Awards **2010: Winner – Female Artist of the Year * Toronto Exclusive **2007: Winner – Best New Artist **2007: Winner – Best New Single **2007: Winner – Best New Female Artist *Toronto Independent Music Awards **2008: Winner – Best Out-Of-Province – "

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

" * Underground Urban Music Awards **2008: Winner – Best International Artist

References

External links

Musique Plus Page

Official website

Label website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empire I Dancehall musicians Jamaican women rappers Canadian hip hop singers People from Bangor, Gwynedd Reggae fusion artists Living people Welsh emigrants to Canada Canadian people of Moroccan descent Jamaican people of Welsh descent 1977 births