Sandi Feels Isolated in Hip Hop as a Queer Person

Sandi, a Johannesburg-based artist, blends hip-hop beats with dance, Kwaito, and queer narratives.

From a background in journalism to penning song lyrics inspired by artists like Ms. Lauryn Hill and Nas, Sandi started his musical journey in 2016.

He recently shared his journey with Spotify.

Despite initial inexperience, Sandi’s work gained traction on Soundcloud.

As a queer artist, it has not been easy in the Hip Hop Industry.

They Shared,

I kind of feel alienated from hip-hop as a queer person,
I don’t really feel like I’m part of that community.
A lot of my community are people in the dance music circuit.
And I love dance music myself,
so I’ve been trying to mold those two worlds together
because I do love hip-hop, as much as I feel alienated from it.
I’m trying to mix hip-hop with dance music sounds and obviously,
talking about my queer experience.”
Sandi

They further explained,

It’s a struggle for a lot of queer artists, trying to fit into a music industry that, for the most part, doesn’t see you, I’m also very blunt about my gender and my sexuality.

If you listen to ‘ICON,’ there’s a part where I’m like ‘I’m not a rapper telling you that I’m an icon.’

It’s me recognizing that I’m not a traditional rapper, and maybe you shouldn’t see me that way.

And that’s fine, because this is who I am, and I’m going to do things my way.”
Sandi

They have learnt how to keep going despite the many challenges.