Black Lives Matter was driven by the necessity for reform and resistance. As the movement is trying to create a new normal, many music stars have dropped their ‘unacceptable’ stage names. The latest to be added to the list was DJ Joey Negro, who would now go under his real name Dave Lee.

The musician wrote on his Facebook page, “ I have not felt comfortable with the name Joey Negro for a while, especially as I have got older.” Lee has been using the stage name for the last 30 years and has four UK top 40 hits and two US dance club chart numbers to his name.

“I’m sorry to have caused any offence. My whole life has been about music but particularly black music, I love soul, funk, disco, jazz in a way that’s impossible for me to articulate in words and I have tried to champion it with the best intentions,” he explained.

His colleague, DJ The Black Madonna on Tuesday had stopped using her stage name and took the moniker “The Blessed Madonna.” She noted that her name had caused “ “controversy, confusion, and pain”. The move came after a group of people had launched a petition asking her to change the moniker.

“We’re living in extraordinary times and this is a very small part of a much bigger conversation, but we all have a responsibility to try and affect positive change in any way we can. I want you to be able to feel confident in the person I am and what I stand for,” she wrote on Twitter announcing her decision to change the name.

A number of other stars have also changed their name which has racist connotations after the movement gained momentum. This includes Lady Antebellum, Dixie Chicks, One Little Indian among others.