The artist formerly known as Joey Negro announced on Facebook yesterday that he will no longer be using the artist name.
The British DJ and producer explained in a Facebook post yesterday that he is dropping Joey Negro as a pseudonym, and that future releases will be under his real name, David Lee.
In the post, Lee recalls creating the stage name for his 1990 single Do It, Believe It on Nu Groove Records, combining the artist names of two records stacked on his desk: Pal Joey and J Walter Negro. “Many of the disco records I bought in the late 70s/early 80s were produce[d] under pseudonyms,” he states, “there didn’t seem anything odd about not using my birth name.” Whilst Lee emphasises that he was not pretending to be black and has not profited off this idea, he accepts that “there could be confusion”.
“In truth I’ve not felt comfortable with the name Joey Negro for a while, especially as I’ve got older,” he writes. “I understand now though that it’s not appropriate for me to carry on using the name. I’ve recently received emails, tweets etc saying that it is unacceptable and people find it out of place in 2020 – and I agree.”
“I’m sorry to have caused any offence. My whole life has been about music but particularly black music, I love soul, funk, disco, jazz in a way that’s impossible for me to articulate in words and I have tried to champion it with the best intentions.”
The name change takes place in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the BLM movement, which has urged many to reflect on the racial implications of their language. As reported in The Guardian this week, a proliferation of name changes have occurred in recent weeks, from sports teams and food brands, to the military.
Changes are also taking place in the music industry. Yesterday, Canadian DJ Patrick Holland (previously known as Project Pablo) wrote on Twitter that members of the Latinx community had reached out to explain why the name “Pablo” is “appropriate as a white, non-Latina, non-Spanish speaking person”, but he has since “side stepped” this fact in interviews. “Though I never intended to offend or misrepresent marginalized people with my previous moniker, the hard truth is that I did, and therefore my intention is irrelevant,” he affirms.
This comes the day after Marea Stamper, formerly known as The Black Madonna, announced that she would be changing her name to The Blessed Madonna, following an online petition.
📷 6am Group