“Everyone knows I’m the rapper who carries the voice of women, no matter what,” says the defiant Senegalese hip-hop artist Sister LB. “We are seen as the weak sex but we are a strong sex – it is us who give life. If I didn’t amplify the voice of women, it would be like denying my own voice and killing myself.”
Sister LB, 34, wants to empower women and highlight social injustice through her music. In doing so she has become part of a burgeoning female rap and hip-hop scene in Senegal, carrying forward the country’s legacy of socially conscious and radical urban music.
A rapper since she was 13, Sister LB lives on the outskirts of the capital, Dakar. She released her first solo single, Ji Gën, in 2019 and says she went solo to make sure more women’s voices were heard and to have more control over her career.
Ji Gën – which means woman in Wolof, the most widely spoken language in Senegal – is a song of celebration, showing women that their happiness is important and that their lives matter. Her latest single, Do Xool, released in March, rejects the traditional expectation that a woman’s role in life is to have babies. “Women have their lives. They have other things to do and we must respect that,” she says.
For decades, hip-hop in Senegal has challenged marginality and engaged in political critique. The Y’en a Marre (I’m Fed Up) movement was established in 2011 by rappers and journalists to protest against government failures and encourage young people to vote. It was credited with toppling Abdoulaye Wade in the 2012 presidential elections.
A little over 10 years later, despite economic hardship, rappers are still asking pertinent questions about government, leadership and Africa’s role in the world. But being an outspoken rapper is risky: prominent artist Nitdoff was imprisoned this year for speaking out against the current government.
“Senegalese hip-hop is engaged [in social issues]. It is in the service of the people and, above all, democracy,” says Lamine Ba, editor for French-speaking west Africa at Music in Africa, an online resource.
The country’s hip-hop scene continues to be dominated by men but more women are becoming involved who are also engaged in activism, he says.
DJ Zeyna, 31, sees it as her duty to combine her music with protest. She is active in the campaign to free Nitdoff and uses her social media platforms to raise awareness of women’s rights and injustice. She posted this month about protests in which at least 16 people died and more than 500 were arrested following the sentencing of the opposition leader Ousmane Sonko.
“I am a person who doesn’t like injustice and who loves their country,” she says. “I don’t sit with my arms crossed. I fight for my country.”
Since starting out in 2011, she has seen more women enter the hip-hop scene, as artists and fans. She remembers it being a challenging environment in the past for female artists. People would question her motives for pursuing a career in music but, she says: “This is what I have wanted since I was a child. I had to prove that I could do it and I had to continue.” She has since started a charity to train other women to DJ.
Ba says that 10 years ago he would have been able to name only three or four female artists who had a following. Now there are at least a dozen who are well known.
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He says female artists raise difficult topics in their music, such as rape, which make audiences uncomfortable. “They take it upon themselves to sing about these topics because the global feminist movement is overtaking Senegal, above all in rap. Female hip-hop artists are focused on changing the place of women in Senegalese society.”
But, Ba says, more women are choosing to sing about hope and social justice. “They want life to change. They want the Senegalese people to be able to find work, to meet their needs and those of their family, to be able to travel like so many other young people around the world can, and to have a better life.”
One female artist whose star is on the rise is Magui. Growing up, the 26-year-old was inspired by the Y’en a Marre movement. “Hip-hop in Senegal has always been considered a type of music that empowers people, highlights problems and has a big influence in politics,” she says. “When there is urgent need, we try to denounce things and say enough is enough.”
Her career so far has involved rapping about taboo subjects, including menstruation and rape. Last year, she was named woman of the year by the digital platform Rap 221. Despite this, she still holds a part-time job to finance her music career.
Magui says parents and older generations remain wary of rap. “They see it as an area where there are only men. There are stereotypes involving gangs and other toxic things. Conservative values and the social reality here in Senegal mean that many girls can’t go far in [a rap career].”
She adds: “We’re still fighting for equality between men and women in hip-hop. It is something that is coming. The numbers of female artists are increasing.”