Enough Of The Octopizzos And Rabbits….…Why Aren’t There More Female Rappers In Kenyan Hip-Hop?

I have much respect for all the male guns in the Kenyan hip hop scene. Rabbit is a genius who gave me my first major interview when I was a nobody. Octopizzo hates me for always dissing him but I do respect his art a lot and Khaligraph is a super talented bro. But Kenyan Hip Hop needs more female rappers. Over the years, only Stella Mwangi (STL) has managed to acquire mainstream popularity. The Norway-based rapper and leggy blond bombshell has topped charts in both Kenya and Europe.

But why isn’t there any other top female cat? It’s certainly not because of a shortage of talent. Xtatic has tried but it seems like she’s more popular abroad than she is here. She hasn’t quite penetrated the local scene. Just like any underground scene, if you look close enough you’ll find a simmering melting pot of talent that has yet to rise to the surface. Lots of upcoming female rappers were poised to strike gold but disputes with their producers, sexual harassment and botched single releases have prevented their music from getting traction

To understand why female rappers are not featuring more prominently, it’s also necessary to understand hip-hop’s place in the wider Kenyan music landscape. Hip-hoppers in the 254 have had to make concessions to the genre’s roots to gain any recognition. Hip-hop was created by the disenfranchised black communities in New York in the late seventies and Kenyan hip hop has had to borrow from that ever since its inception. Even as American trappers have shifted to trap music, we have seen Kenyan rappers go into that too. It’s all about the template that’s being provided by the masters. And in the land of the masters, there’s only one major female act- Nicki Minaj. Even she does more pop than hip hop. Basically, female rappers here have no example to follow.

Wangechi was ready to become rap’s “It” girl in 2014, but an unfortunate accident halted her progress for a while. I still believe she will come through once she’s recovered fully. Others have all generated buzz, but have never been able to break out beyond the hipster set.

Why is it that the only Kenyan female rapper to make a name for herself had to leave the country at a tender age and drop her Kikuyu accent in order to top the charts? What exactly does it take for a Kenyan female rapper to make it to the top? Hard work, marketing savvy and model looks? Maybe

Society has shown that it’s willing to lick the feet of female artistes who are willing to leverage their sex appeal. From an international perspective, we see that society pushes women to adopt a hypersexual image because the industry has convinced itself that’s the formula for success. So should female rappers pose nude and embrace the socialite personality too? ,….hmmmm

As messages that women are these interchangeable objects of male desire continue to flood rap music, it becomes more difficult for people to view women as credible artists in hip-hop. There’s also a prevalent notion among many in the music industry that the public can only embrace one female rapper at a time — a theory that can be argued as correct since every current that embraces hip hop has only one major hip hop rapper.

However, I believe that the biggest issues for up-and-coming rappers and not only female rappers is marketing themselves, striking that delicate balance between hip-hop credibility and mainstream appeal. Apparently, men can almost do anything and they’re pretty much accepted: You can be ugly, handsome, or not even rap that well. Women, they have to have hair and makeup, they have to dress sexy, they also have to be super-talented.

In comparison to male MCs in Kenya, it’s obvious there are very few female rappers choosing music as their first priority in terms of a career. But there are many more female rappers out there than people think. Whether they stay in the game long enough to become known by the rest of the world is up to them. They have to come out and claim their place.

Music in general is a hard industry to succeed in, irrespective of your sex. Females have a choice on whether to view their gender as an advantage or disadvantage.

While there’s no quick-fix solution, it’s also important for more hip-hop fans here in Kenya to support rising female rappers — and for those artists to evaluate what exactly they want out of their careers.

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