NADIA NAKAI

Nadia Nakai has made room for female rappers in South Africa while staying true to who she is - and dipping into other industries. Bragga has earned her bragging rights.

- SHANI TSAI

It's right at the end of our interview when Nadia Nakai mentions that she loves animals. As a fellow dog mom, this just confirms what I learnt during our hour-long chat: Nadia Nakai is a person who thinks deeply about life. “I was at a gig and I saw a group of grasshoppers - there were so many! - and I had to walk around them. I just couldn't walk through them,” she tells me. She knows that everyone has their place in this ecosystem of life, and that all living beings are deserving of respect.

BECOMING BRAGGA

UB40, Sade, Phil Collins... These are just some of the artists who have inspired Nadia's musical journey. Perhaps not quite what you would expect from a woman who has made massive strides in the local rap scene. “This is the type of music my mom would listen to when I was growing up. I like old-school music and I'm inspired by it,” she says.

When I ask about where her love for rap comes in, she quickly says: “Uhm, because I can't sing!” - and after a chuckle, she explains that she loves music, so she knew the next best way to express herself was through poetry. She started writing poems in high school and gradually started recording those poems onto music on her mom's laptop, and then it became rap.