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Awa’s hip-hop love is influenced by Ndebele praise poetry !
Ndebele praise poetry is one of the traditional forms of artistic expression still prominent in the villages of Matabeleland. It’s a rich cultural tradition that’s still preserved at weddings, funerals and other traditional ceremonies.
Raised in a religious family where hip-hop was associated with violence, drugs and social deviance didn’t deter Awa from pursuing her dream of being an internationally recognised female rap artist.
Born Awakhiwe Sibanda in Matabeleland, Zimbabwe, her stage name is also an acronym for African Women Arise. It’s apt for an artist who is also known as Zimbabwe’s Rap Queen and an artist who is championing women’s rights through her brand of the genre delivered in her native Ndebele and English.
The German city of Hanover, where she has been based for the past five years, is a long way, in many respects, from her humble rural beginnings in Nkayi, north of Matabeleland, before she lived in a number of townships around Bulawayo, the historic and commercial hub of the region.
“My love for hip-hop was influenced by Ndebele praise poetry when I was 10. I grew up listening to kwaito music and artists like Zola 7 inspired me to rap in my mother tongue,” the 29-year-old says ahead of her participation in the Reeperbahn Festival in Germany.
One of her seminal influences and inspirations is Albert Nyathi, a popular Zimbabwean poet and musician best known for his song Senzeni Na? (What Have We Done?) – composed as a tribute after the assassination of Chris Hani in 1993. A direct influence who passed on a love for different musical genes to her is her father and guitarist Joshua Sibanda. He never played professionally but made her aware of the gift she had and the possibilities it presented.
Awa uses Ndebele to telling artistic effect in her songs – a Nguni tongue that’s notable for its click sounds. A case in words. point is’ It s destined to be one ,a of
Ngeke Bengimele song that poignantly expresses her poetic power as a rapper with an exceptional way with the highlights of her repertoire at Europe’s biggest club festival. Since its debut in 2006, the Reeperbahn Festival has been attracting explosive upcoming talent from all corners of the globe.
“I have performed at big festivals but this one means a lot to me because it will introduce me to the African market.
“As an artist based in Europe, it has always been my dream to find platforms to market my music in Africa as well, especially in SA because of the language and cultural similarities. This is a great opportunity and I am looking forward to it.”
A versatile and charismatic performer with a powerful stage presence, Awa’s music addresses several social and human rights issues that include child marriages, corruption, xenophobia and, of course, violence against women, children and other vulnerable members of society.
Is it an issue that she is a female artist in a predominantly male genre?
“It is. As a female MC, it’s not easy to get to a point where people take you seriously, especially if you are doing something that is different. Many people always expect me to sing or dance and they scoff at the thought of me rapping.
“We are usually expected to prove ourselves and our hiphop knowledge. I always fight the misogyny with great music and hard work. I force my way into spaces and own them. Rap is not for boys. It’s just a way of expressing oneself in rhyme.” Awa started making music in 2012 and two years later she turned professional.
Her baptism of fire as a stage performer in front of a large audience was in 2014 when she participated at the Shoko Festival in Harare. Since then she has appeared in a number of international ones including Shambala, Festival Number 6 and Freedom Festival Hull.
In the UK she collaborated and performed with other female artists in a project dubbed Voices of the Revolution.
In 2016 Noisey Raps released Awa: Ghetto Queen of Zimbabwe, a documentary on Awa’s life and music. The nine-minute film won the inspiration award at the Research In Film Awards (Rifa) in the UK. The film reveals her urban upbringing in Makokoba, a township outside Bulawayo notorious for its high levels of crime and violence.
She relates how she had to resist invitations for sexual favours in exchange for recording her music.
“It’s a common thing in the industry. There are men who expect upcoming female artists to sleep their way to the top.”
It was also in 2016 that she moved to Germany where she was signed by Outhere Records, the Munich-based music label known for exploring the urban African music scene in countries such as SA, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Eritrea and Zanzibar.
For its African theme, May is close to her heart. “Africa is rich in cultural heritage and it is our identity. “It does not matter how far we may be from home, we carry it with us. Africa Month is special to me because we get to celebrate our roots and to educate others, especially in the diaspora where most children are not exposed to it.