The hip hop game in South Africa is booming, but there seem to be no female rappers on the scene. The likes of Nadia Nakai and Gigi Lamayne have dropped a single and a video here and there, but don’t have albums to stamp their authority on the genre.
Perhaps a new entrant to the game, Fifi Cooper, will change this. Known as the “queen of Motswako”, Cooper hails from Mafikeng, the place where Motswako originated thanks to pioneers like HHP and Tuks. She’s worked hard to become a household name, earning a nickname as Motswako royalty.
“As a female artist it is really hard and I think the female artists out there put their all into their music. They think they can just throw one video and one single and then they chill. That’s all about to change because now I am here and I want to go all out. The female artists in the game fight a lot and I don’t like that. There is a lot of jealousy but I am not competing with them. They are sleeping on their talent and I am going to be everywhere because I don’t see myself as a chick. I am competing with the males,” she said.
So confident in her craft is Cooper that she believes she is the best female rapper at present, but only time will prove if she right.
“I don’t listen to any female rappers. I know what they rap, but I don’t think I’d buy their albums. I might work with some of them just to prove that I am the best. People are used to hip hop being for guys only. It’s the same in the US as well. When those female rappers like Eve and Lil’ Mama came out, they struggled, too. In South Africa we have had situations where people like Brenda Fassie and Lira will only be considered singers, but the bulk of the guys rap. They make it hard for women to come into hip hop. It has to change, I’ll make it change.”
At present, the rapper is enjoying the airplay of the song Kisses which features AB Crazy and she has also collaborated with fellow Motswako rapper, Khuli Chana, on an upcoming song.
“I still want to introduce myself to people so I talk about myself. My everyday life, basically. I don’t talk about flashy cars and popping bottles because I don’t have any of that. Even when I have a turn-up song, I will do it with things that are within reach. I can’t afford to sell lies. I talk about my late dad and how my mom raised us after that. I have been recording since 2010, but time and the game changes so I will tweak some of the songs accordingly,” she said.
Cooper will also fuse some of her singing skills with rap to spice up things as she grew up singing. At present, she is completing her official EP before releasing her debut album at the end of the year.
“I just need people to know what I am made of and then we can take it from there. I am confident that I am bringing something that was lacking in the market and I am good at it,” Cooper declared.
• Kisses is available on iTunes.