That’s Doctor Rebecca Lucy Taylor to you, thank you very much! With graduation season in full swing, Self Esteem donned a fancy gown and a mortar board yesterday; the musician has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Sheffield University, in recognition of her career successes, as well as her efforts to champion diversity and inclusivity in the industry.
Accepting her degree in music, Taylor had some choice words prepared for Sheffield’s Class of 2023, and discussed how her Self Esteem moniker evolved from “a cool artist name” to an entire ethos. “Over the last seven years it has been exactly what standing up for myself, staying true to myself, and never compromising my vision has given me,” she said.
“Every time I wasn’t quiet just to keep the peace, every time I said no because I meant no,” she continued. “Every time I let my emotions show, every time a bloke online attacked my appearance and [I] accepted that he is just a product of his lived experience and to reply would be futile.”
Dr Taylor will see you now! Completely overwhelmed to have been given an honorary doctorate from @sheffielduni 🥹 pic.twitter.com/E13CXExggT
— Rebecca Lucy Taylor (@SELFESTEEM___) July 18, 2023
“Every time I remind myself I’m not difficult for being passionate about the details – I’m not a show-off, I’m a committed artist. Every time I allow myself to be too much, I’ve done right by that wacky, loud, bonkers, blonde little girl singing into a pogo-stick to the adoring reception of the back garden wall.”
Reflecting, Taylor admitted that she was nervous to address the students. “This morning when I looked in the mirror and I didn’t know if I looked good enough, I realised the journey is never over,” she said. “Everything I said about believing in myself doesn’t come easily or naturally. It’s a lifelong practice. I have to wake up and commit to it. You all committed to something, whether it came easily or naturally, whether it was a struggle, or it was boring or really, really hard.”
“You committed when you weren’t sure if you would make it through to the end and you’re here, achieving, believing, committing and choosing what’s good for yourself,” she added, congratulating the assembled graduates, and quoting from her song The 345.
“You are now at the bottom of a new mountain and the top of the mountain is the end of your life. And you and I are just constantly going to be going up it,” she said, speaking the words to that track’s bridge.
Born in Rotherham, Taylor first rose to fame in the indie duo Slow Club, but went solo in 2019 with her debut album Compliments Please. Embracing the Self Esteem persona saw the artist move towards the kinds of bold pop sounds that previously felt off limits; and 2021’s follow-up Prioritise Pleasure established her as one of the most exciting names in pop.
That album’s I Do This All The Time was possibly her biggest breakthrough moment, setting incisive, stream-of-consciousness to a slinking, lounge groove. “When I’m buried in the ground,” she quipped, “I won’t be able to make your birthday drinks but I will still feel guilty.”
