Gigi Lamayne opens up about female beef

Johannesburg – If you thought hip-hop beef was only reserved for the gents, think again. Gigi Lamayne says female MC rivalry is alive and kicking.

Speaking to The Juice recently, Gigi revealed that female MC’s may not get physical, but they are far from united.

"I just wish we would get along more and get on songs together, like the boys do. But for some reason we're all in our little corners. It may not be beef like the boys have, but we need to be more united and do work together," she says.

"I've tried but it didn't really work out," she reveals. "I have tried to reach out, but it go so bad that I had to get a female Kenyan rapper to jump in on my latest album. But once we're mature enough to get past the 'I want to be the best female rapper' towards the 'Let's be the best female rappers right now together' we will start to see things happen," she adds.

And although it bothers her, Gigi says she’s learnt to focus on herself and improving those around her.

"People always think that female rappers are a pity party and we're trying to get things easy, but it's more difficult. People seem to be more comfortable with a patriarchal figure representing hip-hop. It's hard for them to recognise that female rappers may be better than some male ones," she says.

"And when it comes to female rappers, it's almost as if there can only be one boss female rapper at a time and we can't all share the stage," she adds. 

Describing hip-hop as her “calling," Gigi says that she felt she was always destined to be a hip-hop artist.

"I think for me it just happened. I decided to try it out, but it's a calling. I mean, I've been studying and doing other things but I keep coming back to this. It's so strong. So, I decided to try this and if it doesn't work out I'll go back and get my doctorate," she laughs. "But when you're heart's stuck on something and you can't stop thinking about it, it becomes unbearable not to do it."