MOOZLIE

Moozlie’s rise within the South African music industry has been a phenomenal journey to witness. She’s mesmerised her fans within her fearlessness, tenacity and incredible spirit. The talented star chats to us about her journey, Victory and being a woman in the game.

Q: What first led to your passion for music?

A: I think being human, you just love music from the moment you are born, but it was around 2013 when the South African Hip Hop Scene started booming that I started to really took it seriously. A year later, I picked up the pen and the rest as they say is herstory.

Q) What made you fall in love with hip hop?

A: There's a confidence and a bravado about hip hop that I have not been able to ignore. Not just the music and the lifestyle, but also the people. The hip hop community is filled with dream chasers and it's truly inspiring. It's something I can't get enough of.

Q: What are some of your first memories as a hip hop artist in the South African industry?

A: I think I pretty much jumped into the deep-end where my music career is concerned. My first live performance was opening for Rae Sremmurd at Mary Fitzgerald Square. It was a huge show and I finally got to share what I had to offer musically. I'll never forget it.

Q: What are the challenges you've faced as a woman within hip hop?

A: The hardest thing is just getting people to take you seriously. So often, people look at you as a chancer or a wave rider when you're seriously trying to progress yourself as a woman in this game. Time and patience have proved that ultimately nothing can stop what's meant to be, but I definitely feel like the hip hop audience is a lot harder on and requires a lot more from woman than they do from our male counterparts.

Q: Which women in hip hop, both musically and behind the scenes, are you inspired by?

A: Rouge is definitely my biggest inspiration. Being able to call her a friend too just makes it that much more special. She has continuously broken down barriers since the release of her debut album and raised the bar for not only female rappers, but rappers in general! The thing that I draw the most inspiration from is the fact that she's doing all of this independently. As an independent artist myself, I have learnt so much from her and the moves she makes.

Q: When and what can we expect from your next project? Who are you working with, what is the creative direction behind it and what does it mean to you?

A: My debut album VICTORY drops September 7th and I'm really excited about it!! Gemini Major produced most of the songs, Lunatic did 3 songs, Syriee and Mordy did 2 songs. PsykoBeats, Tweazy and Takunda also did a song on the album. From a features perspective I worked with Rouge, Thabsie, AKA, Da Les, Yanga and Younsta CPT.

I've also done some sound bites from a sermon by my Pastor, Pastor Musa Motloung throughout the album. This will let people into what motivates me and what I truly believe.

The album is basically a celebration of my success over the last couple of years. I've accomplished a lot and never really taken time out to appreciate it all, so that's what I'm doing with this album. I explore different sounds and topics but ultimately the album aims to inspire the listener to be the best version of themselves.

Q: What are your thoughts on the state of SA hip hop currently?

A: I really believe the game is in a great place. There's never been a more exciting time to be a female artist, especially now, but with that being said I do believe things could be better. We need to start converting all of our potential into a truly sustainable industry. We all need to come together as collective and put an end to practices that are holding us back.

Q) Please share more on your role in the #HipHopHerstory campaign and why it was important for you to be a part of it?

A: I'll be performing at the event on the 8th of September. As a female hip hop artist it is extremely important for me to be involved because this is exactly the type of show we've been fighting for. It shines a spotlight on women, in various aspects of hip hop, who have made a significant contribution. Castle Lite always provided incredible platforms for local artists but this might be their most important event to date! It's not just about the concert. It's about changing how people look at females and the work that they do. It really is a movement and I'm so blessed to be involved. I think it's also high time that we send positive messages about women in our media. In South Africa, we mostly hear about how women are being raped and killed. We're a lot more than just victims and this will show that.

Q) What legacy would you like to leave as an artist?

A: Since the beginning of my career, even before I started making music, I've always tried to be the girl who did things her own way. I play my own game. I set my own rules. If I can instill that into artists that I will sign to my label in the future and get them to use those principles to change the lives of their families and communities I feel like I would be leaving a legacy that will live on long after I have passed on.

Q: What is your hope for future generations of women hip hop artists?

A: Be absolutely unapologetic for the dreams they have and the work that they do. I pray we would have built the industry to a place where they can only work as hard as we did but not have to go through all the same struggles.

Q) Which up-and-coming women artists are you excited about locally?

A: PhreshClique is a group that consists of 2 of the coolest chicks from Cape Town. They've got a funky fresh look that instantly grabs your attention and a sound that will instantly tug at your nostalgic heart strings. They are the definition of New Age South Africa. They kinda got that New Age Kwaito vibe but it's still so dope and so fresh. Definitely a group to watch!

Q) What can we expect from Moozlie over the next year?

A: The album release is the main project for the year and I will go on tour shortly after it comes out. The main focus for me and my team is to make this the most successful project I've ever released and ultimately become the first female hip hop artist to go gold.