The Hip Hop African

Flash Marley is a female Togolese artist that embodies strength and character through her music. The title of one of her hit singles released in 2020 is called “SITSOPE”. The title of this song translates to a place of refuge or help. In the music video for this song, her voice exhibits passion and power. The video mostly incorporates single shots of her, which claim the viewers full attention and captivates them by the message she is trying to convey. In one verse, Marley raps;

“You have to go through the steps to get to the top 

We had to be judged 

We had to apply ourselves 

We had to pay for all our dreams without holding back”.

I interpreted this part of the song as she had to work harder to prove herself because she is a female rapper in a male dominated field. Female rappers have to go the extra mile in order to be recognized, acknowledged, and considered prestige. This is very apparent, especially in Togo considering the fact that there are very few widely-known female rappers. She also refers to herself as “madre” throughout the song, signifying her role as a dominant female-figure to be looked up to and respected. Another verse that stood out to me was;

“I speak differently, I make music differently 

for my niggas, I am present

I speak differently, I make music differently 

for my sisters, I am present.”

From this, she is making a point to claim that she isn’t like the rest and her art is unique. She also emphasizes that she makes music for her people; her black listeners and her female listeners. 

“Music is not sex” is perhaps one of the most significant lines in this particular song. Because so many female rappers are over-sexualized and encouraged to show off their bodies/rap about sexual things, Flash Marley made a point to draw the line between music and sex. She instead raps about empowerment and overcoming obstacles. In the music video for this song, she is fully clothed which goes to show that rather than the attention being on her body, it is on the power of her words. I think this makes her stand out from the typical female rapping brand which is super empowering. 

Music Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNs1XdkcKsE