Words Katie Baskerville
Photography Jono White

The day can't make up its mind between the hailstorm and the sunshine. It's a poetic nod that suits the tone, as in a few short minutes, I'll be speaking with a woman who knows a lot about how to create art in the throes of those polarising, emotional weathers. 

Rebecca Lucy Taylor, known as Self Esteem, has risen to fame and earned her accolades because of her unapologetically nuanced candour, smart lyricism and fully realised performances that seamlessly blend theatre with the world of the pop star.

Taylor's unique spoken-word-cum-chorus-pop flavour of music has cemented her with a loyal cult following of people who just get it, with me firmly and proudly among them. She is a creative force majeure, honest about the highs and the lows and the competing, hypocritical, rhetorical elements of womanhood.   

It's no wonder that Taylor's success in her new role as "Maggie" in the play Teeth 'N' Smiles has landed to raucous applause from audiences and critics alike. 

Fresh off the news that she now has not one, but two nominations for Best Contemporary Song with ‘I Do and I Don't Care’, and Best Song Musically and Lyrically with ‘Focus is Power’ for the Ivor Novello Awards 2026, Taylor joins the call beaming. 

Now out of the doldrums, the wind is in Taylor's sails.