Each March, Ugandans celebrate National Women`s History Month: a chance to recognize women’s varied, and often under-recognized, accomplishments throughout history. It is celebrated with television specials, political speeches, classroom learning initiatives, and (more recently) social media posts intended to honour the special women in one’s life.
2023, it feels redundant to even say the words “female rapper” to mark women as separate from their male contemporaries. The likes of Lady Slyke, and MC Yallah have been killing it since we can remember, but waves of talented women from Keko and Saint CA have come since, and at their prime proving time and time again that they can go just as hard, if not harder, than their male counterparts.
Thanks to social media and online streaming partially democratizing the industry, there’s more choice than ever before when it comes to hard-hitting women from international acts like Megan Thee Stallion, Saweetie, City Girls, and Kash Doll to Young M.A, the list of stars on the rise grows seemingly every day.
The definitions of rap and hip-hop are changing constantly, too, as artistes blend genres from around the world into new, sonically innovative hybrids.
These combined factors make it harder than ever to box artistes in, which is precisely the point genre means less than talent, but there’s still a whole bunch of new or underrated artistes that you really should be adding to your playlists this year. So, under the loose banner of “hip-hop,” we’ve rounded up some for you.
Tushi Nabakyala– Singer, songwriter and performing artiste who is talented and self-driven in this entertainment game. Like any other underground or community artiste,Tushi has seen the rough and tough roads in the journey of music. After high school, she started off as a DJ in her neighborhood before her close friend dared her to do a mic test and freestyle some lyrics.
She draws most of her inspiration from the legendary Uganda rapper Lady Slyke. Later on the release of her biggest song for me ‘Who Is She’, she proclaimed herself as the female Babaluku . But before fully focusing on writing and recording music, her brand had grown a little bit as Tushi Polo which she changed in 2022.
Stone Age Ug– Her recording career began in 2019 after her management led by the seasoned hip-hop talent manager Senior Sula, she recorded and her management uploaded a set of demos online, receiving positive reviews and requests from a growing fan base to release more, and was soon booking gigs while also getting airplay from Ugandan radio shows. In 2020, Chimp Reports listed her as one of the ‘hip-hop freshest artists to look out for next year.
In 2020, she released first hit called ‘Kyekimu’ that made her get three nominations in the Hip Hop Awards and these are; Best Female Rapper, Rookie of the year and Impact Track of the year.
Stone Age describes her music as raw wordplay rap and experimental,mixing oldschool hiphop and new school sounds.
Recho Rey– Known for her raunchy lyrics and her mastery of street lingo, Rey represents the rap scene with unprecedented force. She’s as real as they come and has been likened to Cardi B due to her realness.
Many of Recho Rey songs like ‘Guma Bakunyige remix’ with Mun*G become very popular and trendy online with a great number of streaming and downloads on Boomplay.
Still, at her young age(24), this singer has already amassed a sizeable and rabid fan base.
Ninja C– Known for her high massive energy and great live performances, Ninja C has performed in several top shows and shared the stage with big names in the music industry. Her hard work and discipline in the industry have seen her drop a couple of top charting songs like ‘What Do You Mean’ that has Tucker HD and Lamu and ‘Pose’ that has still Tucker HD and Niwe Akeine.
She has featured in a number of top musical events that include; hosting the 2022 Uganda Hip-Awards, and several other special music recording sessions including her epic verse on the UG Cypher 2 that happened some seven years ago.
Keko – She cut her teeth early in the rap game, making major moves in a male-dominated industry. Since she started her musical journey, it has been all about hard work, passion, and perseverance for Keko. Keko gracefully joined the party and began crafting her skills at an early age.
The “Alwoo” singer developed as an artiste over time from street freestyles in her hood to appearances on local radio stations.
Keko packaged herself as a Tom Boy and her rise to fame began in 2010 with the release of ‘fallen heroes’ which she appeared alongside other established Ugandan artists like Don MC,SP,DAVIS and also the mwanba children choir. After spitting arguably the best verse on the track Keko began to turn heads with her lyrics, delivery and presence on tracks and as they say, “the rest is history”.
After going through what seemed like a very difficult spell on the side-lines which led her to temporarily put music on hold, she recently became active on social media again releasing photos showing that she has improved and how life is better plus releasing some new music.
The singer even had an interview with NTV Uganda recently saying she is going to continue to release new music. She said her music will be international because she has fans all over the world.
Vkaycee – The sultry rap sensation may be coy from the spurts of interactions she allows her fans to get off her, but her art speaks volumes of her confidence and security as a rapper.
She has proven herself to be a serious contender in mainstream Hip Hop. The rapstress recently featured on an all-star song “Bad” featuring high-profile artistes such as Kracbone, Lady Slyke, Tushi Nabakyala, Afekuru, Ella and Kvan.
Other special mentions;
1) Felista Di Superstar
2) Kvan
3) Lady Slyke
4) MC Yallah
5) Ella Tyga
6) Kween G
7)Tshila
8) Fasie
