Malaysian female rapper Zamaera defies her conservative country’s cultural norms
- Zamaera thinks that her fellow citizens don’t talk about sensitive issues openly so she uses her music to start conversations about them
- She’s not afraid to call out both men and women, like on her 2017 breakout track Helly Kelly
Rap, with its often misogynistic lyrics and tendency to treat women as objects, isn’t always a musical genre that’s friendly to females. Meanwhile, in conservative Asia, several cultures still believe women shouldn’t be involved in important matters. But one Malaysian rapper wants to switch up both these narratives.
Zamaera is a rapper whose songs challenge her country’s cultural norms. On her track Wanita – which means “woman” in English – she raps in Malay about what it means to be a “boss lady”, paying tribute not just to high-powered corporate women but also to the legions of silent homemakers and housewives who are the backbone of Malaysian families.
“We live in a culture where men are expected to lead,” says the 25-year-old singer from the city of Subang Jaya, whose real name is Sharifah Zamaera. “Men are expected to be the breadwinner of the family, men are meant to solve the problems, and men are the ones who make the final decisions.
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with people who hold these beliefs, but when I made Wanita, I wanted people to look at the women who have been present in their lives and have played such a huge role in shaping who they are.”
When it comes to the topic of gender, she’s not afraid to call out both men and women for their behaviour. On her 2017 breakout track Helly Kelly, Zamaera criticises young women who “party too hard and have no vision for the future” – or as she puts it in the lyrics, “You said that you was werkin’/ I saw your Insta story/ 4am and you still twerkin’.”