Biography
An Israeli dancehall MC who performs as Miss Red, Sharon Stern brings a robust yet lighthearted approach to her rhymes. Her incisive timing works equally well across brisk, jagged grime instrumentals and slower, echo-laden riddims, often interrupted by bursts of exuberant vocal exclamation, while her words project resilience and self-assertion. Although she has worked with multiple producers and artists such as Gaika and Silent Poets, her most distinctive rapport has developed with Kevin Martin, known professionally as the Bug. Their association began when Miss Red joined the Bug onstage in 2011; three of his projects from the first half of the decade featured her contributions, and Martin handled production for both the 2015 mixtape Murder and the 2018 debut album K.O.
Raised in Haifa, Stern first took up the microphone within the local dancehall collective Easy Rider, drawing direct influence from Jamaican toasters including Sister Nancy and Lady Ann. In 2011 she encountered Martin at a Tel Aviv gathering where he was delivering an unplanned set; after requesting the microphone she impressed him enough that they recorded “Diss Mi Army” the next day, issued as the B-side of a 2012 single on his Acid Ragga label. That same year she relocated to London, began regular touring alongside Martin, and contributed to another Acid Ragga 7" as well as the Bug’s 2014 album Angels & Devils.
Following her move to Berlin, Miss Red issued the Martin-produced mixtape Murder as a free download in late 2015, incorporating additional rhythms from Andy Stott, Mark Pritchard, Evian Christ and others. Further guest spots appeared on Gaika’s 2016 release Security, two 2017 Warp-issued Spectacular Empire 10"s, Ishan Sound’s “A Wa Yu Want,” Trilion’s Ain’t No Future with No Past, and additional projects. In 2017 the London shop Sounds of the Universe put out her 12" Under Attack, which contained two further Martin productions. Stern also featured on Dawn, the 2018 album by Japan’s Silent Poets, before her own full-length K.O. arrived later that year on Martin’s Pressure imprint.
Raised in Haifa, Stern first took up the microphone within the local dancehall collective Easy Rider, drawing direct influence from Jamaican toasters including Sister Nancy and Lady Ann. In 2011 she encountered Martin at a Tel Aviv gathering where he was delivering an unplanned set; after requesting the microphone she impressed him enough that they recorded “Diss Mi Army” the next day, issued as the B-side of a 2012 single on his Acid Ragga label. That same year she relocated to London, began regular touring alongside Martin, and contributed to another Acid Ragga 7" as well as the Bug’s 2014 album Angels & Devils.
Following her move to Berlin, Miss Red issued the Martin-produced mixtape Murder as a free download in late 2015, incorporating additional rhythms from Andy Stott, Mark Pritchard, Evian Christ and others. Further guest spots appeared on Gaika’s 2016 release Security, two 2017 Warp-issued Spectacular Empire 10"s, Ishan Sound’s “A Wa Yu Want,” Trilion’s Ain’t No Future with No Past, and additional projects. In 2017 the London shop Sounds of the Universe put out her 12" Under Attack, which contained two further Martin productions. Stern also featured on Dawn, the 2018 album by Japan’s Silent Poets, before her own full-length K.O. arrived later that year on Martin’s Pressure imprint.
Albums
Singles
