Gigi Lamayne on how becoming an indie artist changed her career

After being in the entertainment industry for a decade, rapper Gigi Lamayne has grown in leaps and bounds from the naive woman Mzansi met years ago.

When her song Ice Cream featuring Khuli Chana became one of the biggest jams in Mzansi, Gigi knew in that moment that she was in the hip hop industry to stay.

During a recent interview with TshisaLIVE, Gigi revealed that while navigating the male-dominated industry was tough, the lowest low of her career was signing to a record label which she claims sidelined her over male artists in the stable. 

“My lowest lows as a hip-hop artist have to definitely be being signed to a record label and then being sidelined. You know, like no matter how hard working I was or how I tried to prove myself, it was always that my male counterparts always received more attention than me and even when I really tried to show the people in charge that 'look, I am really talented and I put in the work and the effort'. That became super destructive to my emotional and mental health,” Gigi said.

The rapper said finally finding her feet as an independent artist has been her career's biggest highlight because even though it wasn't easy she did everything the way she wanted and it's working out.

“Becoming independent is my biggest highlight and biggest flex because hits like Fufa featuring King Monada happened when I was independent. It happened when I was taking my power back and my career went upwards from then and is still going up.”

Watch the Fufa music video below:

Gigi is certain she'll still be one of the best rappers in Mzansi for years to come.

“Gigi is still standing because she understands what seasonal means ... There's no artist that can be a 'hit' all the time and I think I understand what seasons mean. Though I believe that my era is yet to come, I totally respect that there's seasons and that some people are going through their seasons right now. I know that my time is coming and I believe that my time is coming.”

The rapper recently released Feeling You, which is a remake of Mi Casa's hit song. 

“The Feeling You remix came about when I was in studio because I felt that I don't have anybody legendary on the album and the album was already done, so it was then suggested to me that someone in the studio could reach out to Mi Casa and that the remix could become a reality.

“I also didn't want it to become a typical feature hence the remix conversation began. We eventually remade the song because it became a very hip-hop inspired song. So it's a remake of the song if it was hip-hop, like putting a twist into what it would sound like if it was a hip-hop song to begin with,” said the rapper.