This music video I chose was from an artist named Natasha Beckley from Sierra Leone. This song was a freestyle made by her and she shows her independence and strength throughout the video. The song is called 2WAM Freestyle on YouTube and her lyricism throughout the song shows braggadocio. She praises herself as a rapper by saying how amazing her bars are and how strong she is in the music industry. She also shows braggadocio with what she physically does in the video. In the video she begins to lift weights to represent her independence and strength as a woman. She further sets up the scene in the video with a basic black top and black jeans to not draw attention to her body but moreover her words and is rapping directly at the camera the whole video.
Her choices made in this video represent many of the topics talked about with female hip hop artists in Africa. Women in Africa bring new perspectives and dimensions to their perception from the world. In many male videos, we see women being objectified and used as a prop to make the men look good. Additionally, many tend to hypersexualize women through their lyrics and the clothes they may have them wear. However, Beckley is part of the movement for women in hip hop to divulge dimensions of women’s struggle and perspectives ubiquitously. There is a constant pattern of the way women are represented in music videos and Beckley’s music video says a lot even though it’s simply. This stylist choice is used to draw attention to her lyrics and her bars rather than her body. Lastly, she does not try to make her voice “sound feminine.” Her voice has a bit of aggression in it and she does not show the need to make her voice higher to appease listeners. You find that many Africa female artists don’t get pressured to make their voice lighter to appease listeners unlike many American artists. In conclusion, Beckley is part of the movement with female artists in Africa, I hope that her work and stylistic choice become prevalent throughout other continents as well.
Social media
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamswadu/