One on one with the sassy Nadia Nakai
Dumisani Ncube | Wednesday January 25, 2017 18:00
“I am a female musician that will always embrace my femininity. I am not trying to be like the guys, trying to be a guy is a waste of time. I am just being myself, I like being sexy, feeling sexy and I’m just being myself embracing being a girl. Waking up in the morning I just wanna feel sexy and look sexy,” said Nadia Nakai who reminds one of Adina Howard by the way she dresses.
She noted that through her music and the way she dresses she is representing, making music for everyone but mainly that class of women who like looking good, dressing up, popping bottles in the club. “Everyone has their target audience. It’s like Nicki Minaj and Babes Wo Dumo who make music for ratchets,” said.
Apart from that she noted that it is important that one represents themselves in a manner that will make brands align themselves with. This can be visibly seen by the way South African and international rappers are getting endorsements.
“I think it’s all about how you present yourself and how you are seen in the public eye. Endorsements pay artists to be in line with their brand. You have to be conscious of the things that you do, post on social media and say during interviews.”
As one of the most booked female rapper in Africa, she noted that it has not been an easy walk in the park as she had to go through many difficulties. “It’s normal to face challenges when you are coming up, but now things are going well at Family Tree. You need a strong team that knows what they are doing for you to make it”.
She also spoke of how many female rappers come across issues of abuse as they are invited into studios to record yet the producers will be seeking sexual favours. “The only thing that can make you successful is your hardwork not being with the cool kids or your name reaches your destination before you do”.
The rapper, who is signed under Cassper Nyovest’s record label, Family Tree, is one of the first female rappers to get into the South African hip hop industry. She started off as an underground rapper during her teen years.
The Bragga rapper who has a degree in Marketing, Media studies and Communication also spoke of how the South African hip-hop industry has grown and turned rappers into millionaires.
“South African media is very big and there is a lot of platforms to push music. Brands are aligning themselves with artists coz we have a huge following and they get their returns. The game has changed; it has become a culture and it has a huge following”.
Despite being a South African rapper she seems to be paying attention to the Botswana hip- hop industry, “I hear Drama Boi is causing a lot of drama back here! That’s nice. Veezo, I love his vibe. Zeus I went to varsity with him and he is always killing it”.