She might be young, but do not be mistaken, this girl is vicious!
The twenty-one year old Genesis Gabriella Tina Manney, or Gigi LaMayne for short, is representing for the hoods in Southern Africa. With many feats under her belt such as winning Best Female two years in a row at the South African Hip Hop Awards, the future is bright for Ms LaMayne.
Growing up in the 1990’s Hip Hop, Rap, and Rhythm and Blues were notes of her childhood. At the age of 13, Gigi had began writing poetry. Gigi’s Ndebele mother played the Fugees and Salt N Peppa while her Capetonian father relaxed to Bob Marley. Her mother’s love of Salt N Peppa caused her to ask Gigi to “do that thing like Salt N Peppa,” which began her musical career. Growing up, Gigi cited that her favorite artist were Tupac, Da Brat, and the Notorious B.I.G. Due to the heavy American music influence, LaMayne considers herself a child of the diaspora. Although she considers herself to be closely related to the diaspora, Gigi is big on representing where you are from and staying true to who you are. During an interview with the South African Hip Hop Daily Show, Gigi tells of her devotion to telling the stories of the youth. Her choice to talk about things pertaining to the ‘hood instead of “popping bottles in the North” keeps her music a symbol of who she is.
Gigi’s messages are unlike those of mainstream genres mistaken for Hip Hop. Gigi voices female empowerment and unity. During her interview with Zeleb.com Gigi states that Hip Hop has three distinct stereotypes when it comes to women. First, the game believes there can only be one big female artist at a time. It is also expected that female Hip Hop artist will not and cannot get along. Most importantly, Gigi states that it is a belief that females must sell sex in order to be successful. LaMayne illustrates that these stigmas hold true because women have accepted it. For that reason, Gigi LaMayne is working hard to break the mold and pave the way for other young women who love rapping as much as she does.
With such a strong message, a great vernacular, and a great support system behind her, it is impossible to think deny Gigi LaMayne. To prove it, Gigi received two rewards for mixtapes, something that many artist have yet to achieve! Check out the link to Gigi’s latest video for Moja featuring WTF:
References:
Gigi’s Twitter & Instagram: Gigi_LaMayne
http://bimba.co.za/gigi-lamayne
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