It’s no secret that rap music in Uganda, and across the world, is predominantly centred around men (with women often being reduced to accessories in music videos). Over the last decade, however, the Ugandan music industry has seen a rise in the number of fearless female rappers challenging societal-norms and leading the scene with unique storytelling about everything from female strength to relationships and careers.
Uganda has some of the best artists that East Africa has to offer, with a rich culture of diverse music genres and plenty of artists to represent those genres, we also have talented women to match that diversity. These women have contributed immensely to the Ugandan music scene and we appreciate them for it thus today making us to highlight one of the women making a splash in Uganda’s rap music scene. Her name is Ninja C, commonly known to many as Herninjaness.
She is one of the most prominent Ugandan lyricists who began her career in 2012 with her debut project known as “Best Kept Secret” coming after a year later. Her guest verses alone put her in a league of her own. Her solo stuff is not just about dope bars — though she has plenty of those — but conceptual tracks with subject matter that straddles social commentary and abstract spirituality.
Ninja C is equipped with standout vocals and she is redefining the status quo of what it means to be a female artist in the business. Her bars and beats tell vibrant stories that deserve to be heard, which is why you should start adding her to your playlists immediately.
Apart from being able to rap spheres around your favourite, she has made major moves already by collaborating with almost all the heavyweights in the game and on some of the biggest all-star projects and she has successfully juggled all that with being a media personality, events host, content curator, mother and wife.
As a rapper, Ninja C is one of the few who have laid the foundation of what rap and hip hop could be about instead of boasting about the power and wealth that comes from fame. The themes of her rap music have been about empowering people around her, breaking the stigmas of the world, finding oneself, and talking about the current social climate, among many more and she is currently working on an album `The Return of The Ninja` which we expect to see a much more grown artist with deep sound and some super cool features.
She may be a rap-rookie to some who rarely follow Ugandan hip-hop, but to those who know they can testify of how she has already changed the game with her forthright lyrics and calls to break social codes surrounding “feminine” behaviour. She is an unexpected presence, which makes her precisely what African rap-culture needs. There is poetry in her lyrics, which signals to wider issues that younger and older listeners can relate to.
Below is her latest project “Pose” featuring Tucker HD and Niwe Akeine:
