Β A name this interesting comes with a personality that’s even better.

Marea Stamper, better known as The Black Madonna, is an important partΒ of Chicago’s club scene and an increasingly popular DJ in Europe.

With a ballsy personality and, if you’ve read or heard about her, you probably know about the causes she supports like feminism, and even the bold statements she make and about her opinions. But, if you have been living under a rock, weΒ are here to help you learn more about this electrifying personality. If there are artists who haveΒ worked seriously for electronic dance music and have maintained a positive reputation for EDM, she is one of those people.

Credits: Aldo Paredes

The Black Madonna became a resident of Smart Bar, oneΒ of America’s longest running establishments, along with Derrick Carter and Frankie Knuckles and is currently theΒ Creative Director of Smart Bar sinceΒ December of 2013. Her re-equippedΒ residency program reflects a distinct set of values, inviting a mix of straight, gay and transgender DJs to become residents at the club. She’s also drafted in the gay party ‘Men’s Room’ and ‘DAPHNE’, a series of workshops, talks and parties held at the club during Women’s History Month.

Apart from this, she is known for her infectious energy on stage and for crafting beats which can make even cynics sway.Β In her interviews, she has often talked about her philosophies.

She said, β€œDance music needs riot girls. Dance music needs Patti Smith. It needs DJ Sprinkles. Dance music needs some discomfort with its euphoria. Dance music needs salt in its wounds. Dance music needs women over the age of 40. Dance needs breastfeeding DJs trying to get their kids to sleep before they have to play. Dance needs cranky queers and teenagers who are really tired of this shit. Dance music needs writers and critics and academics and historians. Dance music needs poor people and people who don’t have the right shoes to get into the club. Dance music needs shirts without collars. Dance music needs people who struggled all week. Dance music needs people that had to come before midnight because they couldn’t afford full admission. Dance music does not need more of the status quo.”

Credits:Β Sandra Leidecke

She has risen from the point of obscurityΒ to a very powerful place in the electronic music scene in 2016. She has been gracing us with good electronic music for more than 30 years and her discography is a must-go-through list for any EDM lover who believes in the authenticity and creativity of electronic music.Β ThisΒ summer, she dropped beats like Dekmantel to DC10, exponentially increasing her fan-base and showing us her mettle.

TheΒ Black Madonna’s catalog of releases includes labels such as Argot, Stripped & Chewed, Classic, Freerange and Home Taping is Killing Music. Crosstalk International described her β€œLady Of Sorrows EP” on Argot, as β€œher most fully realized work to date”.

We just urge you to check her out!