BY: Sandra Ani
As the world prepared itself to honour women across the globe for International Women’s Day, Africa’s most innovative beer brand, Castle Lite, embarked on a journey of celebrating women across the continent by facilitating the biggest ever female Hip-Hop collaboration from Africa.
The aim was to showcase the power when women stand together and fortify unity through music, so the brand partnered with an ensemble of five (5) heavyweight female rappers and boldly remixed Hip Hop royalty Queen Latifah’s popular 90’s anthem, U.N.I.T.Y.
South Africa, Tanzania and Nigeria were collectively united
to do the remix with the likes of Mz Kizz (Nigeria),
Moozlie(South Africa), Gigi
Lamayne (South Africa), Rouge (South Africa), andRossa Ree (Tanzania), behind the mic. Castle
Lite’s U.N.I.T.Y is more than just another
female Hip-Hop collaboration, it is a celebration and call, not only to women
across the continent but to the rest of the world, to give life to the power of
women in unity.
The five artists executed a simultaneous livestream of U.N.I.T.Y. this morning on Instagram; a
first of its kind for Castle Lite and on the African continent. And speaking
ahead of the song performance (livestream), Castle Lite Brand Director Silke
Bucker said: “Our ethos as Castle Lite has consistently been about pushing
boundaries through innovation, and to commemorate this special day, there was
no better way for us to unite women than through
what is truly our passion point – music.”
“The ever-strengthening musical ties across the continent made it natural for these brilliant artists to come together in song with the brand, and Castle Lite is privileged to place women in hip-hop at the forefront. Today we all celebrate the power of women in UNITY and our glow of pride couldn’t be brighter in celebration with all the amazing women across the globe on this unique international day,” Bucker added.
Music has the ability to unite people from different backgrounds, and it is through this that the women were able to bring their individuality and unique styles to recreate an amazing song with a powerful message.
Last year, the extra cold beer brand broke music barriers when they hosted the first ever all female Hip Hop experience titled Hip Hop Herstory, which focused on highlighting the role women have played in the evolution of Hip Hop. Castle Lite’s Hip Hop Herstory was a success and learning from that experience meant that the U.N.I.T.Y. collaboration was not only logical but progressive in highlighting and honoring the talents and contributions of our very own from Africa. The nation is urged to rally behind this initiative, spearheaded by leading female Hip Hop artists by downloading and streaming the track