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On Wednesday (9 October), the famed Google Doodle is headed by award-winning artist Lizzie Emeh, a singer-songwriter who was the first person with a learning disability to release a UK-wide album, Loud and Proud.
Emeh was born and raised in Notting Hill, London, and was of Irish and Nigerian heritage. When she was a baby, her parents were told she would never walk or talk. But, by the age of four, Emeh proved doctors wrong.
Emeh was first discovered at an open mic night in 1999 where she joined the arts organisation, Heart n Soul, which worked towards an inclusive future.
In an interview with M Magazine, Emeh shared how her nan inspired her.
"She was a jazz and blues singer and taught me everything I needed to know about music," she said. "I remember her turning around and saying to me ‘I’m only putting you on the starting blocks, because I know what you’re going to achieve’. From there it became a love, then a passion. I knew I wanted to sing from a very young age."
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On this day in 2009, her first album Loud and Proud was released, described as "eclectic, wide-ranging and with lots of soul."
Her following album was a three-part EP trilogy, titled See Me. The three parts, The Clan, My Baboo, and Meds, explored her relationships and mental health. Listen to Lizzie, an album of love and empowerment with a more reggae sound, was later released in 2023.
She went on to perform across the world and at festivals, including Glastonbury Festival, the 2012 Summer Paralympics and Heart n Soul Unplugged in Asia.
Emeh also won several national awards for her legacy and is remembered as a figure who championed the rights of people with learning disabilities.
Emeh passed away in November 2021 at the age of 44, but her legacy will forever live on.
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