Maidza the new female voice

Bruce Ndlovu
EVERY year we are told, ita��s the year of female rappers a�� that time when they plot their way and assert their authority in the mainstream. Therea��s nothing new really, other than that therea��s a�?a hot new female voicea�? and it ends there.

This perennial discussion within the hip hop world raises important questions. Many female voices can spit bars but ita��s a strain to name at least ten. With that said, one name worth mentioning in the hard-to-come-up-with ten is Australia-based Zimbabwean Tkay Maidza (ABOVE).

Maidzaa��s place in the sun is that she has joined South Africaa��s male rapper Emtee as one of only three African artistes nominated in BETa��s Best New International Act award category.

The two were joined by Nigeriaa��s Falz in a category that features some of the best new talent from around the globe.

The nomination means that Maidza will go against South Africaa��s emerging superstar Emtee, whose meteoric rise has seen him dominate at the Metro FM and SAMA awards, both of which are traditionally that countrya��s biggest music award ceremonies.

The 20-year-old rapper whose music is a fusion of hip-hop and pop, a mixture embodied best in her 2014 album Switch Tape, is the offspring of immigrant miners who moved to Australia when she was a child.

Her parents moved to Perth when she was five and lived in mining communities around Kalgoorlie and Whylla before settling in Adelaide six years ago.

Despite spending much of her formative years in Australia, Maidza credits her native country for her roots in music, as she used to sing for her extended family during the Christmas holidays.

a�?At Christmas we used to sing carols and Ia��d be the main singer. You had a long walk to get home from school. I remember this one time my parents left me outside playing with some toys and a snake came outside and nearly bit me but I survived,a�? she said in an interview with Australiaa��s Guardian newspaper.

The Zimbo starlet also revealed that like other expatriate Zimbabweans sometimes people had questions about her real identity and where her loyalties lie.

a�?One person said a�?Shea��s not from Australia, whya��s she rapping in an Australian accent? She needs to rap in a Zimbabwean accent.a�� Ita��s like what are you talking about? You dona��t know me,a�? she said.