Interview: @rouge_rapper on The Creation Of ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Official Anthem ‘Turn it Up’

The ICC Women’s T20 World Cup is taking place in SA in 2023, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) has teamed up with SA rapper Rouge to compose the official T20 World Cup anthem titled, ‘Turn it Up’.

Next year’s Women’s T20 World Cup edition will be an African first, with South Africa welcoming nine nations; England, India, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies, Bangladesh, Ireland, Pakistan and defending champions, Australia to the shores.

Rouge is looking forward to witnessing how the song will connect with fans and get them excited for the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, but ultimately show their support for the ultimate prize in T20 cricket. “It’s amazing how music has the potential to evoke different emotions to people, whether it’s happiness, sadness and excitement. When you mix sport and music you create positive connections with a variety of people and this is why we want fans all around the world to Turn It Up for what will be South Africa’s first Women’s T20 World Cup in 2023,” Rouge said.

Judging by online sentiments on the Turn It Up tournament teaser, the song looks poised to bring the heat as the country counts down to the opening game between South Africa and Sri Lanka on Friday, 10 February at Newlands Cricket Ground.

In the Q&A below, Rouge chats to SlikourOnLife about the creation of ‘Turn It Up’ and what it means for her and SA hip-hop. 

Being an anthem, ‘Turn It Up’ is expansive and sounds stadium-ready. Can you describe how it felt to create it in studio?

I’m not going to lie, when I got the call to bring the ICC T20 Women's World Anthem to life It was hella daunting. Especially after the last World Cup on African soil had ‘Waka Waka (This Time for Africa)’. But if you know me and you know Rouge, we never backs down from a challenge our God presents to us. The process was actually quite fun though. The ICC had a specific vision they wanted to bring to life for their cricket fans and I did exactly that. Brought their baby to life.

Who did you work with in putting the song together? And what was the process? 

Well of course we worked with the ICC And how they wanted their version of this anthem to be brought to life and fortunately they put me in a studio with Hey Papa Legends of which we’ve worked incredibly well on previous projects. 

What does being approached for such a massive project mean to you as an artist?

At this point I am still shocked as to how my career has led me to be part of such an event of this magnitude. I would have never guessed going into music as a rapper that this would be part of my journey. This only makes me more excited about what else my God has in store for me.

What would you say it means for SA hip-hop in the current music climate?

Well it speaks volumes in that South African hip-hop is always evolving and changing, but that doesn’t mean it has been left behind, we are here to stay, and we are good enough to represent our continent.

Watch the ICC Women's World Cup promo video soundtracked by 'Turn It Up' below: