A Baddie Breaking Barriers: Rapper Nomfundo Yekani Tells Her Story of the Road Less Taken
Over the past half a decade, rapper and singer-songwriter Nomfundo Yekani has emerged as one of South Africa’s authentic and culture-honouring voices from the creative boom of the Lockdown period. With her recently released EP, iStyle Sami, the East Rand native captured and distilled the essence of early 2000s kwaito to craft a time-specific extended play uniquely tailored with dense songwriting and catchy hooks. Facing the future while paying homage to the past, she produced a project that allowed her to keep one foot on staying true to herself as a lyrical wordsmith and the other on not forgetting her kasi roots
Bred in the township of Thokoza in Ekurhuleni, Yekani traced her heart for music all the way back to childhood, singling out hip-hop as her genre of choice. She spoke about her journey and how the COVID-19 pandemic forced her to make a move with her life which ended up pushing her into the game.
“Nomfundo is a girl who grew up in Thokoza, and I’ve been into music since a young age. I used to love hip-hop, but I just didn’t know I could rap. As time went by, I became interested in anything to do with entertainment, which led me to pursuing TV presenting. But, when that didn’t love me back, I decided to step away from it. Then in 2020, during lockdown, I decided to try writing a song or a freestyle of sorts. Funny enough, that was the same thing I won Rap Activity Jam with. From then on, I started taking it seriously and considering it as something I could pursue as a career,” she said.
Nomfundo Yekani | Credit: Sipho Magosa Media
She has been featured on the 2022 Cypher of the South African Hip Hop Awards and flexed her lyrical chops at one of Mzansi’s premium hip-hop festivals Back to the City, but that’s not even a scratch on the surface of her accomplishments. Nomfundo Yekani humble-bragged about how far she has come, conceding that her being a woman and the difficulty of the game because of this has not deterred her from wanting to reach the top.
“I feel like I’m on the right path. I’ve only been in the game for five years, and I’ve already done so many things that a lot of people who have been in the game for a decade have not even touched. I say all that in the most humble way possible because I am really grateful. I’ve hosted and performed at Back to the City. I’ve been on The Tswyza Show, and I was the first female ever to be on the platform. I also did the SA Hip Hop Awards… I did a lot. So, I’m quite proud of myself and the direction my career is taking. I just wish that the game was a little friendlier to up-and-coming artists, especially if you’re female. But hey, the game is the game, so you got to work hard, and you’ll eventually get there,” Yekani said.
Check out Nomfundo Yekani spitting on The Tswyza Show:
Yekani spoke about blending two of her biggest genre influences to formulate her own sound: hip-hop and kwaito. Inspired by American rap in the shape of YMCMB and lokshin soundtracks of Brown Dash and TKZee, the self-styled Queen God expressed hopes that her music would be as timeless as the classics she moulded her own music after.
“I used to listen to a lot of Lil’ Wayne and Nicki Minaj since I grew up in the era when Young Money was still huge and their music was crazy back then. They used to rap, rap, and I liked that about them. So with most of my music, especially with my latest EP, I try to incorporate South African flavour in the raps. So in the verses, I rap, but with the hooks, I decided to do things with a kwaito feel and stuff because I used to listen to a lot of kwaito as well. I still listen to Brown Dash and TKZee because kwaito from back then influenced me a lot. I don’t listen to a lot of new-age music because I find the old stuff nicer. A lot of the songs from back in the day are classics, and that’s what I’d like my music to be. I don’t want my music to die out in the next four to five years,” she said.
Yekani revealed that she was pleased with her growth and her music’s trajectory, citing that she has evolved from being a bar-reliant rapper to being a consummate musician capable of constructing a song with a formulaic structure.
“I’ve matured quite a lot, especially with my sound. I know better now in terms of the game. I mean, the things I wanted in 2020 are definitely not the things I want now. You know how when you’re starting out, you have these thoughts that you’ll drop an EP, then people will listen, and then you’ll just get famous. But then as time goes, none of that happens, then you start to learn about the game, and how to approach things and which lanes to take. In a way, I’ve learned not to rush things, and to simply take things one step at a time. I mean, I don’t just rap anymore, I make music. I never did hooks, but with this EP, I rap and do hooks. All me,” she said.
Nomfundo Yekani | SUPPLIED
Shaped by the harsh conditions of the game while navigating doubting Thomases in the shape of gatekeepers and sexist naysayers, the resolute muso said that she wanted to be remembered and known for having an indomitable spirit.
“I’d really wanna be known for standing on business. I rap, rap. No ghostwriters involved – no disrespect to anybody. I’ve been in the game for five years and I’ve already done so much against all odds. Hip-hop, when you’re starting out, has a lot of gatekeeping and I faced a lot of it. There were a lot of people who were like, ‘Aah, this girl.’ In the beginning, they said I rapped too much and needed to dumb it down and look at people like Ice Spice. But I continued doing what I do best, and somewhere down the line, people also started dropping EPs and albums and freestyles. Then, I was like, so you guys wanted to me to stop rapping and yet you’re doing the same thing you told me to stop doing? So, I’ve been through a lot. A lot of people said I rap too much, do too much, and dress too ghetto. But I decided to not stop going for the crown. I wanna be known for being unstoppable. If I want something, I go for it. I don’t care whatever happens and who says what. I will do it,” she said.
Yekani revealed some of the things she liked getting up to when not in the booth.
“If I’m not doing music, I’m probably at home watching WWE, honestly,” she said, chuckling. “I’m a homebody who just likes chilling and relaxing. I’m not too big on going out a lot. So, it’s just me, my TV and my phone while chilling with family. That’s all I literally do; I don’t have much of a social life.”
Nomfundo Yekani | Credit: Sipho Magosa Media
In the spirit of Women’s Month, Nomfundo envisioned herself as a blueprint for the young girls out there to follow her example, from the mavericks to all those who desired to take the road less travelled or the one they were told not to take because they were girls. She also spoke about some of her other future interests.
“Years from now, I’d like to venture into property, and I hope that somewhere down the line I can do sports presenting because I love sports. I watch football a lot, and I’m a big fan of it along with basketball. I’d like to be a good example to girls coming after me just to show them that they don’t need to do everything they are told to do as girls in order for them to get into the industry. I want to be an inspiration to the young girls who look up to me and say, ‘I wanna be like her because she did it differently.’ Those are the things I want for myself,” she said.