Voicing our opinion: Challenges of female rap artists in North-West Nigeria

This chapter dwells on the challenges faced by female rap artists in North-West Nigeria who, like most rappers, both write and perform their songs. As one of the components of hip hop, rap music is more than just words spoken over beats. It is also a poetry that is worth analysing. This researcher conducted an in-depth interview with some of the Hausa female rap artists. During the interview, we discussed the challenges faced by female rap artists in and within their family members, in society, and in the industry. The study further examines the motivation behind these artists’ engagement in Hausa rap music. The challenges they face will help to assess the Hausa culture of the North-West Nigeria and how it deters or provides room for the development of women in their society as well as their music industry. The study uncovers major challenges faced by Hausa female rap artists, including family, societal and industrial challenges, inadequate representation of the female artists and domination by their male counterparts in the industry. Another finding is that some of the artists were motivated by sharing Bollywood songs, while others wanted to share the culture of singing and dancing by teenage girls in the Hausa land by moonlight. The study uses feminist communication theory as its theoretical framework.

Keywords: female rappers ; indigenous rap ; Nigerian rap ; songwriting