Doja Cat
Born Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini, Doja Cat’s father is South African. He is an actor named Dumisani Dlamini and the two have an estranged relationship. Apparently, they have never met.
Earl Sweatshirt
Thebe Neruda Kgositsile aka Earl Sweatshirt has South African roots. His father was a poet named Keorapetse Kgositsile, who passed away in 2018. He left the family when his son was 6 years old.
Goapele
Bay Area songstress Goapele, full name is Goapele Mohlabane, is also of South African descent. Her father was an exiled activist named Douglas Mohlabane, who fought against South Africa’s apartheid system. She has traveled to her homeland on a health mission in an effort to help spread awareness about HIV/ AIDS
Jean Grae
Tsidi Ibrahim, p.k.a. Jean Grae, has been a fixture in the NYC hip-hop underground as one of the hardest femcees on the mic since the mid-1990s to early 2000s. She shouted out her South African heritage on the song Black Girl Pain with Talib Kweli. She was born in Cape Town.
This is for Beatrice Bertha Benjamin who gave birth to
Tsidi Azeeda for Lavender Hill for Kyalisha
ALTHLONE, Mitchells Plain, Swazi girls I’m reppin’ for thee
Mannesburg, Guguletu where you’d just be blessed to get through
For beauty shinin through like the sun at the highest noon
From the top of the cable car at Table Mountain; I am you
Girls with the skyest blue of eyes and the darkest skin
For Cape Colored call for realizing we’re African
Styles P
1/3 of The Lox, Styles P is known for his hardcore East coast raps. The Queens native was born to a South African mother and Jamaican father, who raised in Yonkers. He has since spent time back in South Africa with his family.
Read: Rap to Africa – 5 artists repping East Africa
Read: Rap to Africa – 5 dope rappers with strong Nigerian roots
