The Black Madonna has changed her name to The Blessed Madonna.
The decision comes as a result of requests for the Kentucky-born DJ, real name Marea Stamper, to change her alias. These requests culminated in a petition on Change.org that was making the rounds on social media over the weekend. The grounds of the petition were that her chosen artist alias is a form of cultural appropriation and digital blackface.
In the latest edition of the ever-popular Between The Beats mini-documentary series, Resident Advisor followed Marea Stamper, or The Black Madonna as you may know her, on a string of gigs across Europe. You may remember the series from past editions that featured Seth Troxler or Nina Kraviz, both of which made headlines throughout the worldwide dance music scene.
The near 28-minute-and-a-half video explores Marea’s career journey and the hurdles she faced to get to where she is now. In 2012, just four years ago, she felt that she had failed as a producer and DJ and was ready to hang her headphones for good. But she didn’t.
