By Azaleah Campbell

British songbird Amy Winehouse always stood out with her dramatic eyeliner and tightly pinned-up jet-black curls which formed her signature beehive that stood atop her tattooed svelte figure.

Best known for her deeply emotive lyrics under a mellow fuse of rhythm and blues, soul, jazz and even reggae.

Tuesday (July 23) marked 13 years since the world lost the ‘Back to Black‘ artiste, at just the age of 27.

The Southgate singer and songwriter’s ballads nevertheless play on in our track lists, even posthumously charting her songs in the UK to this day.

To further commemorate her legacy, here are five interesting facts about the late musician guaranteed to make you love her even more:

1) Winehouse initially started her career as a rapper

A musical genius she was indeed. From as young as age 10, Amy started a rap group inspired by her distaste for the music local radio stations were playing.

Taking a “necessity is the mother of invention” approach, she and her childhood friend Juliette Ashby formed the hip-hop duo Sweet ‘n’ Sour, patterned after the popular American rap group Salt-N-Pepa.

 Ashby’s stepfather, Alan Glass, found the two a studio where they recorded three jams: “Spinderella” (which name-checked Salt-N-Pepa’s DJ), ‘Glam Chicks‘ and ‘Boys…Who Needs Them‘.

Though the songs never made it out on air, the recording session provided the boost Winehouse needed to kickstart her career.

2) She sang for a jazz orchestra

It was in Winehouse’s blood to gravitate towards jazz, having fallen in love with the genre after her grandmother Cynthia, who was a Cabaret singer, introduced her to the calming, syncopated beats.

 It’s therefore no surprise that the then 16-year-old would take such a turn in auditioning for and making the UK’s National Youth Jazz Orchestra. In July 2000, her debut for the 22-member big band came at a Sunday lunchtime concert at the Rayners Hotel, a London pub.

She never rehearsed with the band before showtime but still managed to blow away the orchestra’s founder Bill Ashton with the four songs she learned on the London underground on her way to the event. Ashton once commented Winehouse had “the best jazz voice of any young singer I had ever heard”.

3) There’s a life-sized statue built in her honour

Right outside the Stables Market in Camden Town, an area in North London Winehouse considered home, stands a life-sized bronze memorial to her which was unveiled by her friend and late British actor Barbara Windsor on what would have been her 31st birthday.

The London-based American sculptor Scott Eaton who made the memorial expressed in the New York Times he wanted to capture her attitude and strength while also representing subtle hints of her insecurities.

4) She had her own record label

In 2009, in support of her 13-year-old goddaughter Dionne Bromfield, Winehouse founded her own record label called “Lioness”.

The name choice was no mistake, as it was the nickname her grandmother Cynthia had given her. “Lioness” still lives on today, with signings from various artists who were connected to the late singer such as Juliette Ashby, Zalon (her backup vocalist) and Liam Bailey.

5) Winehouse was an accomplished, self-taught guitarist

This is just the cherry on top. The perfect complement to her remarkable vocals despite rarely being spotted on stage with the instrument, Winehouse began honing her guitar skills at the age of 13, developing a distinctive style she could call her own.

She had the deep desire to express herself fully through the strings, but due to her tragic passing, the most her fans can hold onto is her phenomenal 2004 performance at the Strat celebration, where she gave a breathtaking rendition of her song ‘Take The Box‘.