Collective Spotlight: Sisterhood Birmingham

In this series, we spotlight up-and-coming collectives who are paving their own way while driving underground culture forward.

Over the last few years, collectives such as EQ50 and Foundation.fm have helped create space for a new generation of FLINTA artists across electronic music. With many initiatives based in London, one collective is flying the flag for the UK’s second largest city, and that’s Sisterhood Birmingham.

Operating at the intersection of drum & bass, jungle, grime and 140, the collective has built a reputation for high-energy cyphers, club takeovers and radio broadcasts while championing diversity in roles that have historically struggled with representation.

Their community spans dozens of DJs, MCs and vocalists, powered by a formidable roster of performers including Natty D, MC Blacka, MC Dizzee DANGER, MC Genie, MC Mass and Vispera, alongside resident DJs such as Alpengeist, Missy C and founder Cam Edge.

Whether taking over the airwaves on Kool FM or shelling down dancefloors from Birmingham's Dark Horse to major drum & bass events across the UK, Sisterhood Birmingham has become one of the most vital grassroots forces in contemporary UK bass music.

Where it all began

Founded by Cam Edge in 2022, Sisterhood Birmingham has grown into a platform that champions non-male artists within Drum & Bass and jungle across DJing, MCing, vocal performance, event curation and beyond. They’re ethos is rooted in community, collaboration and representation, which is why the collective has become a crucial part of Birmingham's underground ecosystem.

Cam Edge

“Sisterhood was formed off the back of an all-female event that took place in February 2022,” explains Cam. “It was a great success, the energy and vibe was just unmatched, working with non male artists really opened my eyes to a new way of doing things to support women in our industry.”

What started as a single event quickly revealed a wider need within the local scene.

Their mission was “to promote and hold space for non-male artists of all abilities and invest in women in the industry, where it was visibly lacking,” Cam says. “Provide opportunities and showcase our talent in all aspects of music. From curating events to DJing, singing, MCing and beyond.”

Building Something Different

The inspiration behind Sisterhood stemmed from Cam's own experiences attending D&B and jungle events and working within Birmingham's music community.

In an interview with UKF, Cam explained that she’d become frustrated seeing the same line-ups repeated while many talented women remained overlooked.

“I started to realise, where are all the girls on these line ups?” she said in the UKF feature. “I knew so many sick female DJs who work just as hard as the guys out there, driving up and down the country every weekend so why weren’t they getting on the flyers?”

That first event immediately felt different.

“From the get go I knew I was on to something great as there was zero egos inside,” Cam told UKF. “It was just about the music and the vibes were electric.”

Even so, building a collective in a male-dominated scene came with its challenges.

“In the early days of Sisterhood it was quite a daunting task as a woman to try and step into a male dominated scene in Birmingham and dare to do something different,” she says. “But as we have grown and continue to excel, I have really gained the confidence to continue to push the boundaries.”

Today, that confidence is reflected in both the collective's growth and its impact.

“I hope to still be inspiring many more women to chase their dreams in the years to come,” Cam says.

Community First

While the collective hosts events, its purpose extends far beyond the dance floor.

“Community plays a vital role in what we do,” Cam explains. “It provides a support network for artists to be creative and network with like-minded individuals and provides a place to nurture talent and support one another in our journey.”

Creating that support network requires constant engagement with the wider scene.

“Networking is a massive part of what we do,” Cam says. “Supporting other like-minded brands. Talking to up-and-coming artists and helping them to break through and provide a platform for all.”

The collective has become increasingly involved in education and advocacy work, collaborating with institutions including the University of Birmingham.

“We have worked with the University of Birmingham to speak with music students and been on various panels, speaking on diversity and inclusion in the music industry,” says Cam.

That spirit of mutual support has always been central to Sisterhood's identity. As Cam explains in her UKF interview, seeing others succeed has been one of the most rewarding aspects of building the collective.

“The whole experience so far has been so much more than I ever imagined it could be,” she told UKF. “I’m the kind of person who I want to see the people around me doing well.”

Creating Safe Spaces

For those attending a Sisterhood event, the atmosphere is just as important as the music itself.

“Our events are a safe space for people of all backgrounds to come together and feel free to lose themselves in the music,” Cam says. “We showcase headline artists supported by our collective. The energy is high and nothing but good vibes. It’s about having fun.”

One of the collective's biggest milestones came through a jungle and D&B event at The Dark Horse in Moseley, featuring scene pioneers DJ Storm and MC Chickaboo.

“That was a personal fave of mine,” says Cam. “Our collective got to support them, it was an absolute dream come true to be able to work alongside them.”

The booking held particular significance. In her UKF interview, Cam revealed that MC Chickaboo had personally reached out after seeing the work Sisterhood was doing.

“Chickaboo personally contacted me and said that she was so impressed with the work that Sisterhood had been doing right now and that she would love to come to Birmingham to support the brand,” Cam told UKF. “It was a personal highlight!”

The event remains one of Sisterhood's defining moments.

Looking Forward

While progress has been made, Cam believes there’s still work to do when it comes to representation within the music industry, especially within bass music scenes.

“It can be challenging generating bookings as a non-male MC as it is such a male-dominated environment,” Cam says. “Promoters may tend to favour men and may not even consider having a woman on their line up.”

“Also being taken seriously as an artist/performer,” Cam continues. “Sexism and misogyny still continue to be rife in the scene.”

At the same time, there have been encouraging changes across Birmingham.

“There are now so many crews and collectives emerging out of Birmingham, which is amazing to see,” Cam says. “Women taking inspiration from seeing other women DJ in venues and studios builds confidence for others to get involved.”

As for the future, Sisterhood Birmingham continues to expand its ambitions. Alongside plans with sister brand 0121 Recordings, the collective has recently launched VERSES, a new platform dedicated to emerging MCs, vocalists, rappers and lyricists from across the city.

“So you can look out for that coming soon!!” Cam says.

Alongside the aforementioned artists, Cam recommends keeping an eye on Ekstatic, DJ Tilz and DJ Becky G, all of whom represent the next wave of talent emerging from the collective.

As Sisterhood Birmingham continues to grow, its mission remains the same: creating opportunities, supporting artists and proving that grassroots communities can help reshape the future of dance music from the ground up.

For all their latest news and events, follow Sisterhood Birmingham on Instagram