Category: LGBTQ+
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CHika – “Balencies”
Jane Chika Oranika, better known as her stage name Chika, is a 23 year old upcoming female MC from Montgomery, Alabama born to Nigerian immigrants. Chika first gained some notoriety after a freestyle posted on Twitter went viral that critiqued Kanye West’s political actions over his own beat. Since then, she has made a fan
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Confronting The Representation of African women- 3 Artists Changing the Narrative through song
African women are often grossly misrepresented by the media and pop culture, the narratives established since colonialism often find their way into the way African women are portrayed to the world. This is why it is so important for artists like Enny, Dope Saint Jude, and Sampa the Great to be recognized and celebrated for
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HHAP Episode 60: The Dope Saint Jude Episode
Dope Saint Jude is a South African hip hop artist who was born and raised Cape Town. A former Political Science student at the University of Cape Town, she started her hip hop career in 2011 as a drag king. Her drag king persona was Saint Dude, and resembled rapper Lil Wayne. After releasing several singles, Dope Saint Jude’s first EP, Reimagine, was released in 2016, Her second project, Resilient, was released in 2018. It included the song “Grrrl Like”, which opens this episode and has been one of her biggest hits. The song was also featured in the teaser for the Netflix original series Blood & Water https://youtu.be/OV9Ma4F_xyA. Dope Saint Jude has also performed at Afropunk, been featured in Vogue & Marie Claire, and been part of major advertising campaigns. In this conversation we discuss the social relevance of her music. Well versed in the politics of intersectionality, Dope Saint Jude is very intentional in what she does. In her music she weaves intersecting identities into lyrics that challenge listeners to reconsider their ideas about who they think Black, Coloured, queer South African hip hop women should be. You can find Dope Saint Jude’s music on streaming platforms. She is also online at dopesaintjude.com, twitter.com/DopeSaintJude, instagram.com/dopesaintjude, and youtube.com/channel/UCdGiyFXiSgtTCXu1AGUeK3A. For more scholarship on Dope Saint Jude’s work: Chapters 24 “Queering Hip Hop, queering the city: Dope Saint Jude’s transformative politics” by Adam Haupt and 29 “Building an international profile as an artist” by Dope Saint Jude, Blaq Pearl, Black Athena, Jean-Pierre, Lyrical Deezy with Emile YX? in Haupt, Adam, Williams, Quentin, Alim, Samy H., Jansen, Emile. (2019). Clark, Msia Kibona. (2018). Feminisms in African hip hop. Meridians: Feminism, Race, Transnationalism, 17 (2), 383-400.
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An Introduction to the Feminine Energy in Africa’s Hip Hop Scene
Women across the African diaspora are reclaiming themselves through their work in hip hop music. The rappers are choosing to express themselves openly and freely. Whether they are openly explicit in expressing their sexuality or being braggadocious about their multiplicities as a woman and MC. One thing all artists have in common is that they
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Queer Hip-Hop Artists of South Africa
I chose the theme of my mixtape to be “Queer Hip-Hop Artists of South Africa” to not only introduce Queer artist of South Africa to the world, but to celebrate who these artist are and what they represent. Traditional hip-hop music isn’t known promote the LGBTQ community and culture, and there was a time when
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Mixtape Project: South African Female MCs Addressing Gender Based Issues and Empowering Women.
Female MCs in Africa have long faced barriers in trying to enter a male-dominated industry that doesn’t take them seriously or believe that can create a lasting impact. As female artists are now on the rise more than ever, they are using their craft to shed light on social and cultural issues faced by women
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Using Gayle to “Keep In Touch”
Dope Saint Jude has always been one to break down barriers and push boundaries, so it’s no surprise that she chose to use the language “Gayle” to portray her message in her song “Keep In Touch.” According to her music video, “Gayle” is a gay slang used in urban communities of South Africa.I believe she
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Dope Saint Jude: The Dopest of Them All
Dope Saint Jude is queer hip-hop artist and activist from Cape Town, South Africa. From what I’ve seen so far, Dope Saint Jude is a real lyricist with conscious and relevant bars! Her song “Liddy” is a carefree song that encourages people to do what they love- Even if that means smoking and drinking (no
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Ugandan Rapper and Queer Icon Keko Finds New Home in Canada
Keko Speaks to the Media. Photo from Autostraddle.com The Ugandan rapper and icon Keko raised eyebrows in an interview she gave with PRI during 2017in which she announced that she was queer. This notably garnered international attention as at the same time the crackdown on the queer community by president Museveni was gathering international headlines.
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Keko Lifts up Marginalized Communities Through Her Music
By Max Bone A photo of the groundbreaking Ugandan artist Keko. Photo from Flickr In a May 2017 interview with the international news outlet PRI the Ugandan artist Keko was not afraid to speak out about who she is, and how she utilizes her popularity to advocate to issues that are of importance to her.