Online Reporter
Ronald Takudzwa Sambona
Youth Interactive Correspondent
“I’m delusional. I want to make ME proud of how I’ll live this life. Aiming to make my dreams come true.
For Afra Dzapasi, popularly known as Afrah in music circles, nothing has made sense since she started.
She began writing rap bars in primary school, but didn’t record her debut studio song until last year.
When she posted on her WhatsApp status in 2025 looking for a studio, her family brushed it off as ‘Fame Fever’. “Now today, if you pass through our house, you’ll hear my dad play my music.
Bump into my mom on a bus, in a bank queue or at church, she’ll send you my links and songs. My sisters go around telling their friends, ‘Afrah is a rapper.’” So, what changed within a year?
“I’m a very delusional person. That’s my motto. The vision is to be so good that they can’t ignore me as an engineer, artist, and person,” said Afrah.
From 2025 to now, she’s collaborated with top female rappers like Young Gemini, performed at Heroes Gala events, and released fan-approved hits like standout ‘Boys’, ‘Ndiri Quiet’ and ‘Hora’. This momentum garnered her tremendous attention.
She has featured on The Girls’ Room and Faya Friday on Power FM, The Harare Drive on Capitalk, and program E-360 on 3ktv.
Afrah’s social media fanbase has over 65 000 followers across YouTube, Instagram, Threads, and TikTok.
This established her as one of the fastest-rising female rappers in the Zimbabwean mainstream, and she’s still in her mid-twenties. So much happened within a year that changed her family’s mindset from sceptical and dismissive to huge fans that are obsessed with her music.
Afrah’s cousin, Tendai, and American rapper NF sparked a fire within her to pursue music.
“Tendai loved rapping, and we were together for K-12 education; so it got to me, and I started listening to rap, and subconsciously, writing lines too. When Tendai left Zimbabwe in 2015, the whole thing faded. Then NF finally did it! I heard the song ‘WHEN I GROW UP’ in 2019, and I was like, ‘I really think I like being a rapper.’ So, I made a cover for it.”
That’s when the delusion began. Besides NF, she draws inspiration from Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, Cardi B, and Wande. To her, these rappers respectively possess positivity, art, wild energy, and a message. Her UZ classmates encouraged her long before she stepped in a booth.
Afrah believes education transforms someone from asking questions to answering their own questions, then questioning the answers to their supposed questions. “Education taught me resilience”.
“The music and entertainment industry is the most populated industry; only the resilient will stay. If you are too petty and emotional, you will quit.”
“I post on my socials with strategy; I study the algorithm; I use effective communication skills. So yes, education is useful in my art.”
“The biggest challenge for rappers and artists in general is financing. We need sponsorships,” said Afrah.
“Making music, like any business, requires investment. You need the capital to start the career.”
This is where support from fellow creatives and female rappers like Young Gemini has really been fundamental.
Afrah’s dreams are too crazy to sing out loud; you’ll witness. Her message to artists is honest: “Nobody will make our dreams come true for us, so let’s make our dreams come true for ourselves.”
“Believe in yourself first. We can only believe in you if you do first.”
