Dataz, is one of the few Tanzanian female rappers born on the shores of Lake Nyasa in Mbamba Bay, her parents later moved to Morogoro where she began her schooling. In her secondary school, Ifunda, her love and skills for music became obvious.
When she first started out, she began performing with female rapper Bad G, but now both are pursuing solo careers. Her first single “Kitimtim” was at the top charts of many radio stations in Tanzania. Dataz believes that the reason there are very few female rappers in tanzania is due to that MCing and DJing are constantly being related to masculinity and criminal activities, as they assume it correlates to that of American gangsta rap, which is known to have lyrics that internalize and degrade women. However, Swahili rap does not use the same language American hip hop uses when referring to women since religion is a big part of most rappers lives, they have a hard time imitating gangsta rap wholeheartedly that at times doesn’t let allow them to be as authentic. But Dataz sees this as a way to have a larger place for women in the hip hop scene.
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