If something marked the musical 2024 in Montenegro, it is female rappers. New names like Kurgashian i Tomorrow, the pioneer of female rap in Montenegro, Labia returned to the scene after a break, in March the three of them joined I open i Maria B and producer Vibin wit DJ Mono spawned the "girl power" hit "ANEMOI"... And now all eyes are on Eli Jane, who won first place at the recently held final of the "She Raps" project in Zagreb.
In the final, the project brought together eight girls from the countries of the region, among them even two from Montenegro - Eli Džejn and AV47. At the competition, the expert jury chose Eli and her Slovenian colleague Sahareya as the winners, who as part of this project will participate in additional workshops in Europe, performances and joint songs with the winners of the "She Raps" program from Portugal, Belgium and France.
"I applied for the competition because of the invitation Phat Philliea (legendary Croatian hip hop producer and one of the organizers of the project), whom I greatly appreciate as an important figure in hip hop in the Balkans. Projects like this are rarely organized in our country, so it was a pleasure for me to participate in something that supports female performers. I didn't know exactly what we were going to do there, but I am so happy that I was part of this story, because I met new quality artists and learned about the local music scene through workshops and gained experience that will certainly mean a lot to me in the future. The time has come to open all the doors for women in rap as well, that's the most important thing in the end," said Jelena Stijepović, who stands behind the pseudonym Eli Džejn, in an interview with "Vijesti".
Although she was among the most experienced participants of the "She Raps" project, she says that she did not expect to win the competition.
"Honestly, I was convinced that I wouldn't win, because next to me there were girls who are so good and unique, but it seems that my experience on stage and in writing lyrics prevailed. After 10 days of hanging out and working with those girls, the victory was no longer important, because we supported each other, connected and already agreed on future collaborations", says the rapper.
Now she says that she is looking forward to meeting her colleagues who won in France, Belgium and Portugal, recording songs with them and touring Europe as part of the "She Raps" project.
Rap is often perceived as a "man's game", which is why women in this genre sometimes encounter prejudice, and the rapper from Budva was not spared this experience either.
"Many times it happened to me that I went to a performance somewhere and didn't get paid just because I came there alone, many times I heard: 'You're great, I just don't really listen to female rap.' The audience has never betrayed me, because the energy I transmit through my performance cannot fail, but my fellow musicians were always very happy to approach me to knock down my self-confidence with sentences like: 'You're great, but it's a shame you're a woman,'" she recalls.
However, it seems that some other winds are now blowing in these areas and that the time has come for the flourishing of female rap in Montenegro. Ellie says she's been trying to get women to come together and work together for years, and she's heartbroken that it's finally happening.
"I am overjoyed that I have someone to collaborate with here and that rap is coming back to the big doors here," she adds.
Among other things, the "She Raps" project gave birth to a friendship between her and the Podgorica rapper AV47, and the product is a joint performance at the recently held Exit festival and the songs that follow.
Ellie Jane started to build a career on the Serbian rap scene more than ten years ago, performed all over the country, published numerous songs and collaborated with rappers such as Smoke Mardeljano and Sinovatz. This was followed by a move to Montenegro, and then a long period during which she did not stand in front of the microphone. Now she says it's finally time to come back and release her debut album.
"I had a daughter at the age of 25 and devoted myself to her and my private life, I quickly divorced and was left alone with her and I had to provide her with everything she needed, so for the last seven years I just worked and took care of the child. Of course, all that time I wrote occasionally and gathered material for the album. After the 'She Raps' project, I decided to host all seven girls from the project on the album I'm working on and make a complete female album, so that people can finally understand how much good music 'just an ordinary woman' can make," she says.
Thank you to Montenegro, it provided me and my child with everything we need
A naturalized Montenegrin - this is how sports commentators would describe Ellie Jane, who after the first years of her career in Serbia, has now become a representative of Montenegrin rap. She has been in Montenegro for a decade and has found herself both musically and in life.
"I came here to work for one season back in 2014, fell in love, got married, gave birth to a beautiful daughter and decided to stay. I found myself here, built my life and I'm glad that people here see me as their own, because I plan to spend the rest of my life here. Montenegro is beautiful, it has provided me and my child with everything we need, even though I am always happy to represent my hometown Prokuplje. At the age of seven, my child already speaks both Russian and English, and I think that moving here is the best thing I could have done for myself and her. Thanks to Montenegro", says the rapper.
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