@Nadia_Nakai Breaks The Mould Of SA Female Rappers At The International #SXSW Festival

Nadia Nakai’s 2019 is off to a great start as she opened the year with the announcement that her long awaited debut album is just about ready for the journey to roll out. While we still digest those fantastic news, she adds to the jubilation by announcing that she will be showcasing at this year’s South By Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival taking place this March in Texas, USA.

According to my knowledge - all 2 cents of it - this is the first time South African hip hop has been represented by a female name at the festival with K.O having performed at the festival back in 2016, followed by Kwesta and Robin Thirdfloor in 2017, then Kwesta, AKA, and Kid X last year. This year, Nadia Nakai will be showcasing at the festival with fellow South African musos, Anatii, Cassper Nyovest, DJ PH, The Muffinz, T$hego, and Tribal slated for performances as well. This year’s SXSW line up by far sports the most SA hip hop acts we’ve witnessed on their roster in recent years, this means that the world is listening deeper to what our side of the culture is up to down here. 

Nadia Nakai’s star power has not only remained consistent over the past 4 years but it has actually been on a steady incline with every year seeing her knock down a new boundary. From her influential signature colour wigs; her eclectic stage costumes, her work ethic, having the most singable hits, right down to bagging an idea for a resealable beer bottle, championing the independent hustle, being the first female artist to collaborate with a brand like Sportscene for a designer fashion label, Nadia Nakai is a trailblazer in all ways. Stemming from her steady growth in the music scene these past years, the palate for a new generation of female rappers has been well seasoned allowing the soil to be fertile for more women - of all kinds of representations - to take over the rap industry. After the likes of Goddessa, Miss Nthabi, Ms Supa, Yugen Blakrok, Relo, Lee Kasumba, Melanie Ramjee, Farah Fortune and many other heroins I term to be in the pioneer league, Nadia Nakai has been a monumental part of pushing the envelope for the conversation of women’s active, and competitive, participation in the music industry where music making and playing the field is concerned. 

Headed to Texas with her Family Tree sqwaa, we can only imagine what the team will get up to that side, and with Cassper Nyovest being someone who’s rather familiar with the U.S hip hop industry we can’t help but lowkey hope for a Sway SXSW Stage showcase from the collective. SXSW takes places from March 8th to the 17th in Austin, Texas. We wish you godspeed Bragga, fly the flag high - not that we’d expect any less!

Featured image by Lash Shots.