Lately there has been a shortage of female rappers worldwide, well some might argue but in Africa that is a debatable issue.The likes of Jean Grae, born in South Africa but later moving to New York, was it because of lack of competition? The 1990s have produced the best so far in the female category, the likes of Missy Elliot and Queen Latifah.
In the Hip Hop fraternity it is hard to breakthrough and be noticed all in all regardless of your gender but news is the Hip Hop industry has now seen many female rappers hitting the mainstream market, for one, Senegal’s Toussa Senerap busting into Senegal’s male dominated scene causing major hype with her hit track “I don’t care” making waves and proving that whatever the men do she can do even better. This goes to show that women have the same capabilities as men and can also go as far as outshining them. Even Nigeria have their very own Eva, Muna and Sasha P, three of the top female emcees usually referred to as femcees, meaning female rapper or female mc.
Taking it back to the motherland South Africa we all know Nadia Nakai, Miss Nthabi and of course Gigi Lamayne, who have all raised the bar and set the pace. This issue of comparing female rappers has become a huge setback because some end up getting little or no attention as a result. Only a few are pushed to the fore. But lately it has been proved that there are many ways to get into the industry and every female rapper is different and gender does not define your capabilities, and that women in Hip hop should not be ignored or pushed aside.
Now that Hip hop has become the leading genre in most countries most women breakthrough and are acknowledged, for example Nicki Minaj, Iggy and Angel Haze. That said, its an inspiration for African women to push hard and gain independence in the male dominated industry because there is so much room. The young women mentioned in this article are doing their best to be part of the fraternity and not be singled out as female rappers. Point here is that it’s good to see these young women finally getting their spotlight instead of being in the background of other male rappers’ videos. This goes to show that women can also do it in these male dominated industries. It’s sad but it’s true, Hip Hop is still very much a boys’ club. However, with years to come the number of female rappers will gradually increase.
