The Femcee Conundrum In South African Hip Hop
by Mayuyuka
Last month served as Women's Month in South Africa. One of the biggest leaps South African Hip Hop has made in recent years is the attention to artists on the fringes and the resultant highlighting of women who rap in the industry. In a country where gender dynamics are pervasive in many fields; and contribute to the relative disparity in exposure and compensation, hip hop has played a great role in countering that narrative as of late.
From Fifi Cooper winning Metro Awards to the remixes of Baddest by AKA and Dj Switch's Now or Never... the industry has been able to pave a way for up and coming rappers, who happen to be women. Judging by Nomuzi Mabena's growth... one would venture to think that the structural barriers are now also falling. The fact that she owns her own record label is a great step ahead for any artist (of any gender) who seeks to take their destiny into their own hands.
The breakout star 0f 2016; Rouge has appeared on both the Baddest and Now or Never remixes, cementing her place in the industry in the process. It's encouraging that Rouge's performance on both tracks is notable, but also begs the question: should she have been on the original versions of these tracks just by virtue of being a rapper. Rouge herself states that she turned down the chance of being on the original Now or Never track, eschewing the tokenism she felt was at play. This is loosely what the conundrum of the femcee entails. The term itself boxes people who practice an art they love, but also regulates how they are perceived.
Although we must applaud them and can't take nothing away from male artist's who recognise the need to utilise their respective platforms to shine a light on female artists; I suppose what's at stake is the idea that gender specific remixes are the only way to do it. Exposing fans to new music is always great, as new artists can capture the attention of a new pool of fans. It's a noble idea but has its limits.
The next step, I suppose, is considering women who rap as peers amongst the rest, instead of them having a complementary appearance on a remix cut. Rouge's Wichi 1080-produced track Sheba Ngwan O, for instance, is a great advertisement of her skills. In the interest of this of this article at least, there are a many more solo tracks that convey 'femcees' talents without having to be considered in relation to a previously recorded (male dominated) track.
The question is, if Hip Hop is genuinely about the gender equality we so crave for... are the efforts that separate womens' tracks (in the form of remixes) enough to counter tired narratives of skill, talent or broad appeal? Well, right now it seems to be working! With the Now or Never femcee remix,a combination of artists from different cities in South Africa proved that, perhaps, the concentration of the industry is as much to consider a who gets eventual representation. The remix included artists from Durban, Joburg and Cape Town. Interestingly, or perhaps, because of Cape Town's relative differentiation from the Joburg scene, a lot more female artists seem to thrive in the fabric of the city's musical make-up. Artists such as the duo Phresh Clique, Dope St Jude, Andy Mkosi, Patti Monroe, Kanyi and Obz Mavuso all call the city home. For its part Gauteng lays claim to the likes of Bk, Ms RBK, Nadia Nakai and Gigi Lamayne who recently signed to Mabala Noise.