Upcoming afrobeats talent and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) campus artist, Qing Mide, has expressed her displeasure towards how female rappers are treated in the Nigerian music industry. Sharing with an ACJOAU correspondent during an interview on Thursday, the campus rapper lamented the public’s attitude towards female rap, urging them to drop harmful stereotypes and give all forms of artistic expression equal appreciation.
Abiodun Olamide, artistically referred to as Qing Mide, is a Medical Rehabilitation (Physiotherapy) student at the College of Health Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU). She is one of the very few audacious female artists on the OAU campus to explore the rap genre.
According to her, ‘Female rappers are not taken seriously because people feel like male rappers are superior, but that’s far from the truth. Sadly, women are objectified in terms of body, rather than what they can actually do with the talents they have.’
She stated further, ‘Personally, some people do not always take me seriously, so I have had to prove myself multiple times. Whenever I say I am a female rapper, their countenance usually changes. Some have even told me to stop, but that’s impossible.’
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Mide further noted that the stereotypes against women in the music industry are not limited to the mainstream, stating that they exist in communities as small as the university, having experienced it herself in the past.
In her words, ‘I was once at an event on campus. All the male actors were called up to the stage, but I was just kept on the waitlist. Stereotypes like this affect our work because people believe we can’t rap as good as males. I have had tons of comments like that, and that has inhibited some opportunities from coming my way. Fans in the music industry should give the same respect they give to male rappers to female rappers.’
Highlighting her brother as a major driving force in her career, Qing Mide also shared the story behind her early musical journey, revealing how her debut stage performance came to be. She said, ‘I got introduced to rap through my elder brother (the tall artist). He was the one who first put me onto those songs, and I started listening to rap properly when I got to secondary school. I decided to start rapping professionally in Senior Secondary School 2 (SSS2). It all started as a child’s play at first. My big brother and I were just playing around with words, and I figured that I might actually get better at it, so I kept on doing it.’
‘My first performance was a very funny one. My phone got stolen on my first day in Ibadan. I was going to an event (a beauty pageant) that my brother invited me to. I got to the event phoneless, so when the MC announced a talent hunt, I was motivated to do it even though I had massive stage fright then. I started rapping in front of over 1000 people, and they cheered me on. Then, I performed my first song. It was a magical moment for me,’ she added.