Bubblegum Club

Tag: female rapper

  • Nadia Nakai is working towards being the best rapper on the continent

    Nadia Nakai is working towards being the best rapper on the continent

    Described as Family Tree‘s first lady, Nadia Nakai‘s guiding vision is to be the best rapper on the continent. All the decisions she makes with regards to her music and business ventures channel the energy that fuels the fruition of that vision. “That’s what I use as my benchmark. That is why I started working with Ice Prince [on the track Saka Wena] very early in my career, which might have been a bit premature. But that is the vision I have always had; being the number one African artist.”

    Over time Nadia has realised that achieving this dream will not come to life as fast as she had hoped. “I think I needed to trust my journey, and understand that being the best comes with time. A lot of practice and growing, not only growing in music but growing as an individual in life generally…I have made the right decisions in my career to say that I am on that path. I am ready to embrace it once it is bestowed upon me.”

    Nadia continues to make waves by sharing content that keeps fans on their toes. This includes her latest video for her hit track Naaa Meaan. Having received a lot of love since releasing the single last year, the video feeds fans a badass dose of Nadia. A bright yellow 4 door Audi with pink smoke coming out of the windows, Bacardi in a pool and Nadia in every kind of hair colour you can imagine, this video adds weight to her title as the first lady of Family Tree.

    Expressing her femininity and sexuality is an important part of how Nadia wants people to understand her as an artist. “I think that people think that it is a strategy that my record label put on me or I am just trying to get attention, but it is really not. I have grown up to be the woman that I am. I am very comfortable with the stuff that I wear, and I am very comfortable with my body, and I don’t get derailed by people’s opinions of it because I am very sure of myself and who I am.”

    Outside of her music, there has been a tendency for people to focus on her relationship and her appearance. Although this comes with the territory, I asked her how she feels about this. “You know what I have always said about the music industry? I have always said that it has to be more than the music,” Nadia responds. This outlook has made her view attention outside of her music positively. She interprets this as people having an interest in multiple aspects of who she is and what she does. “They [fans] are interested in what I have to say. They are interested in what I am wearing, who I am speaking to, who am I spending my time with…I have planted a seed in your heart and you think about me, not just when I am on the radio, not just when you see me on TV.” She expressed that this is what she wants as an artist, for people to embrace her “whole being as an artist… You want them to focus on a lot more than just the music.”

    Practicing her philosophy of being more than just the music, Nadia started her own company called Bragga Holdings, and she shared that she thinks of herself as a brand. Bragga Holdings takes care of the merchandise which is available at the Family Tree store at Work Shop New Town in Johannesburg. Nadia’s team is expanding and she is determined to build a legacy for herself, and so the parameters for Bragga Holdings may widen pretty soon.

    Armed with her degree in Marketing, Communications and Media Studies, as well as with the help from her team, Nadia operates with a calculated strategy. This directs her energy towards opportunities that will contribute to the longevity of her career.  Her collaborations and partnerships with brands are also guided by her vision for longevity, and so she steps into these with the intention of potentially building long-term relationships.

    With her musical journey having taken multiple turns, from her initial interest in electro, to trap and dancehall, she reminds me that hip hop will always have her heart. “I am the first lady”.

    Credits:

    Photography & Styling: Jamal Nxedlana
    Assistants: Themba Konela & Shannon Daniels

    Look 1: Nadia wears blazer by Pringle, sports bra by Puma

    Look 2: All clothing stylists own, shoes by Puma

    Look 3: Nadia wears blouse by Topshop, Leggings by H&M

  • Otarel Seeks Balance Through Her Raps

    In the current era of hip-hop, it says something about a rapper when they approach Ready D to mix and scratch on their mixtape. It says they know and respect the history of their craft. It says they’re not trying to do what everyone else is currently doing. It says they rate themselves enough to ask a legend to put their name behind their talent. But what does it say when a hip-hop legend like Ready D agrees to work with that rapper? It says that you should probably give them a listen.

    Otarel’s debut release, ‘Dirty All Stars’, has to be a SA Hip-Hop Awards contender for Mixtape of the Year. Not just because Ready D put his deft touch on it, but because Otarel can R-A-P better than your fav. In a time where hooks typically outweigh lyricism, and the combo a rapper wears is more important than what they have to say, Otarel takes it back to the days where knowledge reigned supreme over nearly everyone with boom-bap and jazz influenced beats. I asked her how she navigates being a lyrical rapper in the era of the hook, expecting her to knock those who put more effort into one line than the rest of the song, instead she told me “I always seek balance. I’ve been rapping for 13 odd years and it’s taken me this long to release something that is mine because I needed to perfect a certain style that merges the hooks with the lyrical aspect, and I am still fine tuning it. I mean, we can’t stop a genre from expanding just because we have mastered a particular sound within it.” Fair enough. Hip-hop has been expanding since Day 1 and those who don’t adapt, die. Otarel knows this, “Adaptability is the MCee’s most important tool, as long as he can attain it without compromising themselves or their desires. I used to hate it though, ‘cause I know that that’s not all that hip-hop comprises of, and it dilutes the flexibility of an artist, but if an MCee wants to attract the ears of the people then it’s a good quality to have, balance.”

    ‘Dirty All Stars’ is a balanced release. At times Otarel comes across as the toughest woman in the world, at other times, her edges get sanded down and her soul is laid bare. “The toughness comes from being around dudes a lot, ne?” She explains, “I did a lot of sports growing up, I was tomboyish so I hardly had a lot of female friends, and I was raised by a strong willed single parent who never showed weakness unless she felt it was going to teach us something about humanity. Plus she whipped our asses if we fucked up, so that contributed. At some stage I got bullied in primary school, and had to do karate to build self defense, but as I grew up, I sort of toned down on the hardness cause it was no longer necessary and I just kept the bits so I could protect me against preying dudes in hip-hop.”

    Being a woman in hip-hop can’t be easy, I asked Otarel how the industry treats her as a female rapper, she laughed and told me, “Like I wear too much clothing and too little make up (laughs). I have had an experience where organizers would rather book a talentless hack, just because she semi-dresses, over me, because I just have too much to say and won’t fuck him for a slot on a non paying event. Imagine (laughs). But that’s why I have a manager person. He knows where I knock ‘em dead in terms of appeal and I am pretty good at what I do, which is the most important factor in a long lasting music career.”

    While she has to be tough to survive in a male-dominated industry, it’s her sensitive side that balances out Otarel’s sound and gives her an edge over her male counterparts. When I enquired how important it is for artists to be emotionally open with their work, Otarel explained, “Vital. Writing from the heart and from experience is what makes a person be able to relate to you as an artist. Having the ability to connect with a person simply because you are open to feeling. A lot of music now is based on energy and words, where the focus is on what’s being said instead of the emotional capacity of the music and  how it makes a person feel through the content and the expressions and the production as a whole.”

    It’s wild to think that Otarel has been rapping for 13 years yet this is her first release. It’s why ‘Dirty All Stars’ comes across as way more mature than your traditional debut. Nobody wants to put in their 10, 000 hours anymore and it’s lead to wack shit dominating the airwaves. I guess that’s why Otarel’s mixtape is so refreshing, you can hear that it’s a well developed piece of art that came from years of hard work, struggle and sacrifice. If you’re tired of hearing the same old shit from kids who don’t know shit, get an education in hip-hop and life from Otarel.