GEN Z FAVORITES PT. 3: PRINCESS NOKIA
ALARA ALPAY
The rap community, which has been dominated by men since its existence, has been undergoing major change over the past few years with the rise and success of female rappers like Nicki Minaj, Cardi B and Meghan thee Stallion, and there is someone to lead that change in the next few years: Princess Nokia.
Destiny Frasqueri aka Princess Nokia, who lost her mother to AIDS very at a very young age, had a difficult childhood as you can imagine. After that, she stayed with a foster family for a while, but ran away from home when she was 13 because she was abused by her foster mother and that’s when she started to write lyrics and began working on her music.
Although living with a foster family is a challenging thing for a child, she adopted the musical taste of the people she met during this challenging period and the nanny at home. All of these experinces led her music and style being so diverse. Despite the fact that the culture she was born and raised in was heavily involved in hip-hop, she also adopted music genres such as heavy metal and rock. She even states from time to time in her interviews that she grew up listening to Red Hot Chili Peppers and that rock music is as much a part of her life as rap and hip-hop. Due to growing up in a radical and liberal environment, she became a part of the underground culture of New York and started to express her own diversity in this environment. Let’s also point out that as an afro-Native and Puerto Rican woman, the most important thing for Destiny is to always be able to represent her culture and be respected.
Her concerts are where Destiny can take control as a black queer individual. She frequently mentions that she cannot tolerate men occupying concert venues, just like everywhere else in the world. Having female fans at the front row at her concerts empowers everyone cumulatively; fans who adore Princess Nokia have fun, dance, and sing along right in front of her, while Nokia is reinvigorating her art with a feminist energy, powered by thousands of female fans. They empower each other just like sisters do!
The importance of Princess Nokia for Gen Z is simple: She has inspired dozens of young people who have been suppressed and oppressed for years, who could not make their own voice heard, and could not express themselves in the patriarchal system because they were different and queer. Destiny Frasqueri is an artist that the 21st century desperately needs, both for the lyrics she writes and the powerful atmosphere she creates for diverse and oppressed communities like people of color and queer community so that they can have fun and express themselves at the concerts.
The patriarchal system’s time is up, now it’s time for strong independent ownership for women!
