Flawless Black History Month ft. Ms Banks
Flawless is celebrating Black History Month with special guest Ms Banks, as well as your weekly dose of Hip Hop and RnB.
Ms Banks
Born and raised in South-east London, Thyra Oji or as most know her, Ms Banks, had a love for music imbued into her life from a young age. In her parents’ home, a fusion of R&B, hip-hop and the sounds of Africa produced the soundtrack to her childhood. “My mum used to listen to pretty much everything in regards to hip-hop: she loved Lil Kim and Salt-N-Pepa. She also used to listen to a lot of R&B like Whitney Houston and Monica as well as a lot of African artists like Koffi Olomide.” Meanwhile, her dad was a firm hip-hop head, proudly owning thousands of physical CD albums from the likes of KRS-One, 2Pac and Biggie Smalls.
Both her parents and Ms Banks always knew that she was destined to create a legacy within the music artistry, it was more a question of how. This was soon answered when one of her aunties pushed her to create social media accounts on Twitter and MySpace when she was 16 to start getting her name out. Things began picking up the pace a few years later when a friend invited the then-teenage artist into a studio and she began uploading her music to SoundCloud.
The last seven years have seen the 26-year-old’s career reach dizzying heights, including a place on the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend 2020, BBC Radio 1 Xtra Live 2019, Fire in the Booth, XXL freshman cover 2020 shortlist, a performance at the 2019 Brit Awards with Little Mix, a BET Hip Hop Awards nomination, rapidly expand global awareness with the critically acclaimed Ep’s ‘The Coldest Winter Ever’ parts 1 and 2 and more. Alongside two sold-out headline shows and a Woman in Music award, Ms Banks has dominated spaces beyond the traditional music industry. The artist was part of the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Campaign, paying tribute to the sporting event with an empowering anthem. She’s also teamed up with the likes of Pretty Little Thing and Fenty Beauty of the years, as well as becoming a Nike Brand Ambassador featuring in a number of international Nike campaigns.
One huge highlight and affirmation of her deserved place in the global rap scene is her friendship with US rap legend and one of Banks’ personal inspirations, Nicki Minaj, who tweeted the Londoner’s lyrics on Lisa Mercedez’s ‘Yu Zimme’ remix back in 2017. “I was literally jumping and screaming like a little girl, I couldn’t believe it. I just couldn’t believe it.” Since then, the transatlantic collaboration between the two has had a huge impact on Banks.
Ticket information
Students - £11 advance / £13 on the door
Guests - £13 advance only (no guest tickets available on the door). Tickets sold as a £24 'student + guest' ticket that must be bought through a student account.
Advance tickets will be available to purchase online until 8pm on the night of the event.
Bringing guests to the SU
Current Royal Holloway students are permitted to bring one guest to Union Venue events. These tickets must be purchased in advance of the event and you will need to sign in your guest on the door from 10pm.
Your guest will need to arrive with you at the event and bring their own photographic proof of age ID. It’s also important to be aware that you are responsible for your guest’s behaviour while they are in the venue and may be given a sanction should they break the code of conduct.
Admission
Tickets will guarantee you entry to the event until 11pm, after this time entry will be dependent on venue capacity until last entry at midnight.
Identification
E-tickets are your ticket to the event and you'll need to have this with you to get into the venue. If you have purchased a student ticket, we may ask to see your Student ID Card. As a reminder, you are required to carry your Student ID Card with you whenever you are on campus.
Alongside this, you'll need to bring photographic proof of age ID (driving licence, passport, PASS card) which will be cross-referenced against your enrolment information.
Event tickets
When you purchase a ticket, you'll receive two emails. The first is your receipt of payment - we won't need to see this but you may wish to keep it as it includes your reference number. Your e-ticket will follow as a PDF in a separate email - you'll need to show us this on the door so we can scan you in. We advise you to lock your screen in portrait mode and turn up the brightness to make scanning easier. If you don't have access to a mobile device, we kindly ask that you print your e-ticket.
All sales are final, and refunds are not available on tickets once they have been purchased (including duplicates or purchases made in error, tickets bought for the wrong event or non-attendance due to personal choice, illness or injury).
Transfers
Your student College card and tickets are not transferrable – i.e. you cannot lend it to anyone else to get into the venue.
Accessibility
As your Students' Union, we're keen to promote equality of opportunity for people with disabilities and to take the necessary steps to meet their requirements - that's why we've ensured that everything we do is accessible to as many of you as possible.
All of our venues are wheelchair accessible via shallow ramps; you can find out more about our venues and view our AccessAble pages by heading to our Accessibility page.
If you or someone you know requires access to special facilities, please email venues@su.rhul.ac.uk and our friendly team will do their best to meet your needs.
Purchasing terms and conditions
Terms and conditions