This Is Gemma Fox. The Original Queen of Bassline.

I’ve been wanting to sit down with Gemma Fox for a while now and this is the reason why. Everyone talks about UK Bassline, Garage and Grime like the story’s already written, like we all just know the records and the radio stations that gave it a home. What gets left out is the people who were actually there while it was taking shape. Gemma Fox was one of them.

“I wasn’t interested in pretending everything was perfect just because I had a record deal.”

Her story starts with “So Messy” in 2001, released through Middle Row Records. It became a big underground record, played heavily on pirate radio and picked up by BBC 1Xtra, which is a serious thing when you consider what that station went on to mean for British music. Gemma’s own archive puts “So Messy” at over 5,000 copies sold, at a time when people were already writing UK Garage’s obituary. Her track “Xtra Dangerous” was among the material tied to 1Xtra‘s early broadcasts, which makes her a launch artist for a station that gave a national platform to sounds coming out of pirate radio, clubs and bedrooms across the UK.

“I don’t feel I need permission to occupy those spaces anymore. I’m a songwriter, artist, A&R and businesswoman.”

Polydor signed her in 2002, with a publishing deal at Zomba/Jive alongside it. Her debut album “Messy” landed in 2004 and the list of names behind it tells you where her head was at. Chucky Thompson, Stargate, Midi Mafia, Johnny Douglas, Punch and Rob Tewlow on production, with features from J2K, Rodney P, Jim Jones, MC Lyte, Juelz Santana and Biz Markie. She was travelling for writing sessions in the US, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, building records that could live in more than one world at once.

Then came “Girlfriend’s Story”, featuring MC Lyte. This is the record I think people should be talking about more when they talk about UK urban music’s history. It dealt directly with domestic violence and gave Gemma a platform to speak to something that was affecting real women listening at home. It reached number 38 in the UK Singles Chart and number 8 on the Official R&B Chart, picked up radio support from Kiss FM, Choice FM, Galaxy FM and BBC 1Xtra, earned Gemma a MOBO nomination and won her Best R&B Act at the Urban Music Awards.

“Talent is everywhere; access, information and somebody believing in that talent aren’t always as easy to find.”

The subject matter didn’t end when the single did. Gemma got involved with Women’s Aid and royalties from “Girlfriend’s Story“ went toward the charity. That work with women and girls eventually grew into “Fempowerment”, which she launched in 2018, running events around confidence, education, careers and spotting unhealthy relationship patterns before they take hold.

“Understand the business as much as you understand your talent.”

What stands out for me about Gemma is that there are several careers sitting inside this one career. The singer, the songwriter, the DJ, the radio presenter, the A&R, the label owner and the woman who’s spent years working with young people and communities well outside the music industry. That last part deserves its own paragraph, honestly. For more than two decades she’s worked across employability, social value and youth engagement, supporting people into training, apprenticeships and education, including women affected by domestic abuse and people involved with the criminal justice system. The European Social Fund and the Greater London Authority recognised her for that work as a tutor, mentor and employment adviser.

“Connection is more important to me than fame.”

Meanwhile the music kept moving. “Might Be“, produced by Dexplicit, became a major Bassline record and stayed on the BBC 1Xtra playlist for over twelve weeks. “Boxers” became a staple on Bassline compilations and has kept circulating through new remixes ever since. “Gone“, “Shapes” and “Operator” rounded out a catalogue that never really stopped growing.

“Everyone talks about UK Bassline, Garage and Grime like the story’s already written, like we all just know the records and the radio stations that gave it a home.”

Her label Fox Ents gave her another way to work, built on years spent inside the major label system learning exactly what it takes to get a record from a studio session into someone’s headphones. That knowledge fed straight into her next chapter. She now runs Fox Music Consultancy, working with artists on publishing, PRS, MCPS, PPL, neighbouring rights, royalties, catalogue organisation and artist development, with a focus on empowering women in the industry. The consultancy has supported over 500 artists so far, drawing on more than twenty years across recording, songwriting, publishing, A&R, broadcasting and label ownership. That consultancy work has grown further still, with Fox Music Consultancy now offering admin publishing deals and acquiring catalogues, alongside panels and a brand new course, ENTER, rolling out across the country, with registration open on her website for anyone wanting to find out more.

“What gets left out is the people who were actually there while it was taking shape. Gemma Fox was one of them.”

And she’s still making records. That’s the part I like most. There’s no sense that music is something she used to do. Recent releases include “Boxers 25“, “Get Gone”, “Luv You Baby“, “Thinkin’ Bout The Boy” and “Twisted“, with a remix of the latter out in January 2026. She’s writing internationally with producers including TroyBoi, J Rocs, Fredro Rocka, Cut Father, Toneworld and 88 Fingaz, with projects connected to Roc Nation, alongside ongoing work with the House & Garage Orchestra. She’s now the official songwriter for the House & Garage Orchestra, with their first single, sung by Syleena Johnson, out now and more releases planned, alongside a full run of tour dates announced for next year. She’s also writing for R&B songstress Anamii and other successful artists in the States, continuing that work with 88 Fingaz, Fredro Rocka and more. Fox Music Records has now signed a worldwide distribution deal, with music from Gemma and other artists on the label set to follow.
Then there’s “Awake“, made with Rare Candy, which climbed to number 2 on the Music Week Upfront Chart and number 4 on the Commercial Chart. Her current catalogue sits at over 10 million streams and 128 chart entries across Music Week, Beatport and the Official UK Club Charts. Twenty years in, that’s a serious body of work by any measure.

“Gemma’s own archive puts ‘So Messy’ at over 5,000 copies sold, at a time when people were already writing UK Garage’s obituary.”

What really strikes me is how many versions of this culture Gemma’s moved through. Pirate radio. The Garage years. Early Grime. The rise of Bassline. The return of Niche. Streaming. Independent labels. Writing camps. And now a new generation finding these records for the first time. She’s also got a monthly show on Pure FM, still DJs and performs across the UK and her involvement in the Pure Bassline world stretches into promotion and curation too.

“There’s no sense that music is something she used to do.”

Then came something that felt genuinely significant. Gemma features in the V&A’s Music Is Black exhibition, which recognises her contribution to British music history. The museum places her within UK Garage and Rhythm & Grime, with “Girlfriend’s Story” featuring MC Lyte named as her defining record. I love that. You can walk into one of the world’s major museums and find a woman whose career was built in clubs, studios, radio stations and independent music spaces. That’s British music history happening in real time and Gemma’s still writing her part of it.

“That’s British music history happening in real time, and Gemma’s still writing her part of it.”

She’s also building forward. Fox & West, her planned Music and Drama school, is set to open in 2027, giving her another space to hand everything she’s learned to the next generation of performers. Take what you’ve learned, pass it on, keep making records, keep opening doors. That feels like the throughline of her whole career.

“Twenty years in, Gemma Fox has proven a career in music can keep changing shape.”

Twenty years in, Gemma Fox has proven a career in music can keep changing shape. Singer, songwriter, label owner, DJ, radio host, businesswoman, mentor and now a name sitting inside the V&A‘s account of British music history. That’s quite a journey and she still sounds like she’s got more to say.