The Hip Hop African

Her name is Ghetto Ballerina and if that does not tell you everything you need to know about this multi-faceted virtuosa from Namibia then I would suggest dropping everything you are doing and pour over her musical catalog right now. Just like her name suggests she is an incredible mixture of grace and raw power, of unbridled swagger and finesse. She is the ballerina in the ghetto. She embodies this juxtaposition perfectly in her song and video “Grind”. She matches her hard-hitting delivery and full-packed verses with the cleanly visage of a CEO in her prime, directing her business affairs with ease. She raps about how hard she is working and what she is working towards, holding nothing back as images of her in her different hats flit across the scene. In one instance she is a mother, smiling and laughing in the park as she tells the audience to focus on what you want and to ignore the status quo. In another, she is in her actual profession as a veterinarian as she explains how the streets show her love, so she has to show them how to play chess in this world in which whatever you put in is exactly what you get out. In the most prominent imagery, she leads a boardroom of all women as she stands at the front and educates the listener that whatever the obstacle, your will and will alone is the difference between being on your grind and falling to the wayside. She is everything she preaches and undoubtedly serves as an example for the multitudes of women of all ages who tune into her music to bask in her greatness. GB is successful not because she is lucky, but because she keeps her head up and her shoulders set, unwilling to ever back down if backing down means stepping off her Grind.