Stereotypes to get a rap slap

19 November 2015 - 02:13 By Leonie Wagner

Live with it - the voice of South Africa's female rappers is going to get louder. This week some of the industry's hottest lyrics masters came together to remix rapper AKA's Baddest.The original version, released in September, features top stars Burna Boy, Khuli Chana and Yanga. So when AKA, real name Kiernan Forbes, called on female rappers Rouge, Fifi Cooper, Gigi Lamayne and Nomuzi Mabena to give the song a new life in the studio they seized the opportunity to rock the mic and change misogynistic mindsets.Lamayne said: "We're trying to break down the barriers that female rappers face."We wanted to show that we are capable of competing with men. It's going to take a long time to break down the stereotypes but this is a good start."Rouge said: " The goal is for gender not to matter. I don't think there's a female rapper world; it's a male world and we're trying to break into it. We're saying we're just as good."The self-proclaimed First Lady of Motswako rap, Fifi Cooper, said: "People are greedy and don't want to take risks on a new artist. We've often thought about collaborating so when AKA approached us we saw it as a great opportunity. We took one for the team; other female rappers will now be recognised."Social media have shown a strong interest in the new remix.The Baddest could prove to be one of the best things to have happened to local female rappers...

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