Rise of the Kenyan Femcee

Once upon a time, the names Foxy Brown, Lil’ Kim, Eve, Missy Elliot, Trina or Lauryn Hill were as synonymous with hip hop as ice is with Antarctica.

It was the era of the ‘femcee’ (Female Emcee). When female rappers freely traded places with their male counterparts on the hip hop charts courtesy of their sheer skill and audacity. That was back in the 90’s.

Today, only a handful female rappers are making music. And that’s including all three of Nicki Minaj’s interchangeable alter-egos. These are tough times for female rappers in an industry dominated by men who have made it their goal in life to bash the female species through their music and lifestyles. It’s easy to see why few women would choose to waddle in such murk.

Not so for Kenya’s new generation of mic-checkers though. Spurred by the successes of predecessors such as Nazizi, the new class of Kenyan femcees is out to school the residing shot callers.

“We’re here to prove that girls can do this rap thing too. And from the Ligi Soo remix, it’s clear that we can even do it better than the guys,” says Femi-1, 19, who’s killer verse in the star studded remix to Rabbit’s popular single, Ligi Soo gives credence to this claim.

Over the last couple of years, female rappers appear to have asserted their position on the Kenyan music scene, no longer playing second fiddle to the men who have long dominated the game.

From the award winning STL who is arguably the most internationally recognisable Kenyan artiste out there to the versatile Muthoni the Drummer Queen and the trailblazing Xtatic who remains the only startup artiste signed to a major continental music label, Sony Music, the girls are obviously on fire.

But it doesn’t come easy.

“Admittedly, we’ve had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get here,” says newcomer Wangechi who is currently signed to Rabbit’s Kaka Empire label. “I’ve been in this industry for over three years and believe me when I tell you, it’s twice as hard for female rappers to get recognition as it is for the males.”

Xtatic agrees, “People like comparing female rappers to me or STL or some other female rappers that have existed, they never really measure them as artistes on their own. They never really take time to listen to what it is they are about.”

Curiously, most of the so called new ‘femcees’ have been in the industry for much longer than some of the male rappers. Femi-1 for instance has been slanging rhymes for over six years now, dating back to her days as a protégé of Mau Mau Camp’s Wenyeji in primary school. “It took an appearance in a ‘well-known’ artiste’s song for people to notice my skill,” she notes, referring to her cameo on the Ligi Soo remix.

Similarly, Wangechi’s relationship with producer Provoke dates back to 2011 when she first hit the studio. Her numerous singles received little attention prior to her ‘big break’ alongside Petra, Raz, Shikow and Lyra on Rabbit’s monster remix. “Even after the release of my solo mixtape, there are many who are still hesitant to accept me as a hip hop artiste because they expect me to sound differently because I’m a girl.”

But according to Xtatic, the femcee’s worst enemy is herself. “Half of them don’t take time to understand the art of hip hop and assume that it only takes a sequence of rhymes to become a rapper. They could have a good flow but lack a storyline and vice versa and in the end they lack a sense of identity.”

For many years, Khaligraph has held down the Kenyan hip hop underground and witnessed the rise and fall of many up comers in the game.
“The problem with these girls is that they’re never serious. When they get a little bit of attention they think they have made it instead of working harder to get their careers to the next level. Unless you build a solid foundation, whether you’re a girl or a guy, you’ll never get anywhere in this business.”

This seemingly is a lesson Wangechi has learnt over the years. “I have a lot of followers now because I’m all over TV and in the papers. But not all of them are my fans. My aim is to build my fan base so I’m assured a loyal support base as I work my way up the ladder.”

And while most femcees would blame the shortage of female rappers on hip hop’s chauvinistic nature, Khaligraph believes that it’s actually the ladies who receive preferential treatment if any.

“There are so many talented male rappers out there trying to get a piece of this rap cake,” he says. “But since there’s so few girls doing it, people pay a lot of attention to those that stand out and that’s why ladies have the upper hand compared to us men.”

Given the disparity between the number of male and female rappers out there, perhaps what’s really lacking are mentors and role models for upcoming femcees to look up to, something Xtatic is keen to address.

“I mentor some of them including Petra. It’s not a male versus female thing actually, we’re all just trying to make something out of this rap game and I offer whatever I can to help considering I’m also still in the process of learning the trade.”

Indeed, with the current revival of Kenyan hip hop, there’s plenty of room for genuine talent, male or female, in the industry.

As Fem-1 would have it, “it’s a good thing that Rabbit gave us the platform to launch ourselves as artistes, hapo pengine tutajisort (we’ll sort ourselves out from here onwards).” The rest of us can only wait to applaud.