The Hip Hop African

In honor of Women’s Appreciation Month, I’d like to circle back to an artist I’ve previously written about, Rosa Ree, “The Goddess of Tanzania”, and her impact on the rap game.

Rosary Robert, stage named Rosa Ree, began her music career on social media gaining the attention of many in the music industry and eventually signed to the music company, The Industry and dropped her debut single, “One Time” in 2016. Since then, Rosa Ree has gained a lot of traction and popularity through her music and cameos in popular shows such as, “90-day-fiance”.

Though Rosa Ree has gained a lot of popularity and traction through her art, in the beginning, her lyricism was met with a lot of pushback from the public and members of the rap community. In Tanzania, the rap world is heavily male-centered and male-dominated. Due to this, it’s often hard for women emcees to make their waves in the rap community. In interviews, Rosa Ree talks about how, “Gender discrimination has been my biggest challenge in the music industry and specifically the genre I am doing (…) It’s as if you should either sing or go home and cook, maybe raise children.”

Despite this criticism, Rosa Ree continues to use her talent in lyricism to break these barriers and challenge the gender stereotypes that place her within a book.

In her song, “I’m Not Sorry”, Rosa Ree talks about the many criticisms she faces in her life. In the song she talks about how she will not apologize for being her authentic self and not appealing to the image others may want her to. Through the use of braggadocio, she talks about how she owns her body and what she does with it as well as the fact that she won’t be shamed for proudly expressing that. In the music video, Rosa Ree is seen smoking and dressing “provocatively” while in church. This unique artistic choice assisted with the message of her song, only further highlighting the initial reaction of many to judge her based on her actions and presentation, rather than realize that she’s human and should be allowed to be her own person beyond scrutiny.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Rosa Ree is an amazing artist whose music speaks to so many people and address many issues her fans and the world can relate to. It’s Women Appreciation Month so if you have the time, please check out Rosa Ree on YouTube and other streaming services and follow her on her other social media.

Check out “I’m Not Sorry”-by Rosa Ree on all music platforms available.

Rosa Ree’s Social Media Handles:

Twitter: Rosa_ree1

Instagram: Rosa_ree

Youtube: RosaRee

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