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Artist News
The Black Madonna changes name
By Andy Malt | Published on Tuesday 21 July 2020
The Black Madonna – aka DJ and producer Marea Stamper – has changed her stage name to The Blessed Madonna.
The move follows the launch of a petition against the name last week, although Stamper has long been criticised over her moniker. In the past, she has said that the name relates to the branch of Catholicism that her family follows, and argues that she has therefore been accused of cultural appropriating something that is part of her own culture.
She explained the meaning behind the name again in a statement announcing the name change, saying: “I have always been transparent about my faith because I felt a responsibility to be clear about who I was and who I was not. The name was a reflection of my family’s lifelong and profound Catholic devotion to a specific kind of European icon of the Virgin Mary, which is dark in hue. People who shared that devotion loved the name, but in retrospect, I should have listened harder to other perspectives”.
“But now I hear loud and clear”, she goes on. “My artist name has been a point of controversy, confusion, pain and frustration that distracts from things that are a thousand times more important than any single word in that name. We’re living in extraordinary times and this is a very small part of a much bigger conversation, but we all have a responsibility to try and affect positive change in any way we can. I want you to be able to feel confident in the person I am and what I stand for”.
The organiser of the petition calling for Stamper to change her stage name, fellow producer Monty Luke, said after her statement was published: “This is a nuanced and somewhat complex issue but I am glad to see that it has been finally resolved. I would urge all those who were in support of this to continue staying aware and educated about this issue and the many others that currently affect our music scene. Most of all, keep talking to one another so that we can gain more understanding”.
