Dope Saint Jude | |
|---|---|
 Dope Saint Jude in 2022. | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Catherine Saint Jude Pretorius |
| Born | Cape Town, South Africa |
| Origin | South Africa |
| Genres | Hip Hop, RnB |
| Occupations |
|
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, keyboard |
| Years active | 2017–present |
| Website | www |
Catherine Saint Jude Pretorius, professionally known as Dope Saint Jude, is a South African rapper, singer, songwriter and music producer.
Dope Saint Jude was born in and grew up in Elsies River, a working class colored neighborhood located on Cape Town's flats in South Africa. She taught herself the guitar at the age of 12 and began writing poetry to accompany her music. She later went into her own brand of hip hop, which has been described as a soundtrack for feminist inclusivity, acceptance and empowerment. She has been noted for bringing a "queer" edge to the hip hop scene. [1]
She began her career in 2011, performing as Saint Dude, a drag king. At this time, she started South Africa's first documented drag king troupe. In 2013, Saint Jude left the troupe to pursue a career as a solo performer. [2]
She released the vogue song and accompanying music video "Keep In Touch" featuring Angel-Ho in 2015. In an interview she stated that she produced the song in 2014 using an Eminem sample kit. [3]
In 2016, she collaborated with M.I.A. to be part of H&M’s awareness-raising campaign video for world recycle week. [4] In July 2016, Saint Jude released her self-produced debut EP, Reimagine. [5] In 2017, she was featured on the Jlin album, Black Origami . [6]
She has performed at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2017, [7] Stanford University in 2017 [8] and Afropunk Festival Johannesburg in 2018. [9]
In November 2018, she released her second EP, Resilient . [10] The lead single, "Grrrl Like" was released in October 2018. [11] The song been used for the Apple TV show Dickinson, [12] the anime Netflix show Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, car manufacturer's advert, in the trailer of Netflix’s South African original series, Blood & Water, [13] and in the movie Nimona adapted from the graphic novel of the same name. [14]
In April 2022, she released her third EP, Higher Self . [15]
Much of Dope Saint Jude's music has tackled issues of social justice, specifically LGBTQ and women's rights. As a queer woman of color, Dope Saint Jude channels her personal experience into her work. By highlighting her identity through her work, Pretorius is able to bring attention to underrepresented issues and demographics in South African society.
In her music videos such as "Girl Like", "Keep In Touch", and "Alphas", Dope Saint Jude features elements of South African queer culture through the gender nonconforming wardrobe choices and of her background dancers as well as her use of Gayle. Pretorius' inclusion of translative subtitles for the Gayle dialogue in her video "Keep In Touch" allows the queer culture that she is shedding light on to be more accessible to a general audience. [16]
In her song “Brown Baas,” Pretorius addresses the racism in post apartheid South Africa. With lines like “I’m representing the voiceless and don’t you ever forget it / I’ve got power and passion and I don’t need to defend it”, “they keep us in chains while they keep on building their towers” and, “do you know what it’s like to be brown for a girl like me?” she presents herself as a spokesperson for the contemporary racial issues existing in South Africa. [16]
Elsie's River is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa.
Bulelwa Mkutukana, known by her stage name Zahara, was a South African singer, songwriter and guitarist. Her music was classified loosely as "Afro-soul", and she sang in Xhosa, her native language, as well as in English.
Kiernan Jarryd Forbes (28 January 1988 – 10 February 2023), known professionally as AKA, was a South African rapper, record producer, and businessman. Born in Cape Town and raised in Johannesburg, Forbes gained recognition after releasing his single "Victory Lap" from his debut studio album, Altar Ego (2011). Often regarded as one of the greatest South African musicians of all time, he was one of the most popular South African musicians of his era and the best-selling South African hip hop artist of all-time.
Jerrilynn Patton, known as Jlin, is an electronic musician. She began producing music in 2008 and received early attention for her 2011 track "Erotic Heat". Jlin's debut album, Dark Energy, was released in 2015 to critical praise. Her follow-up Black Origami (2017) received further acclaim.
Simphiwe Majobe Nhlangulela, better known by her stage name Simmy, is a South African singer-songwriter.
Sabrina Louise Bernstein, better known by her stage name Sizzy Rocket, is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. In 2016, she released her debut album, Thrills, and toured the record nationwide as direct support for Kitten. In the same year she started her first independent record label Diet Punk Records, now Lost Chrrry Records. On this new label, Rocket collaborated with The KickDrums to create a punk rock band called Shiny Wet Machine.
Andile Sibabalwe Fiphaza, professionally known as Zoocci Coke Dope is a South African record producer, rapper, singer, and audio engineer. Almost all of his productions begin with the tag "Zoocci Coke Dope! He's the dealer". Zoocci's debut album, Anxiety, was released on 25 November 2019. The follow-up album, Anxiety+ was released on 25 February 2022. He won the Producer of the Year award at the South African Hip Hop Awards 2021.
Nomzamo Mbatha, is a South African actress, accountant, television personality, businesswoman, human rights activist.
Simoné Pretorius is a South African actress, director, screenwriter and producer. As an actress Pretorius is best known for portraying Irma Humpel in the 2016 Afrikaans biographical film Vir die voëls, for which she gained prominence and international recognition. In 2024 she makes her screenwriting and directorial debut for the award-winning, "Som van Twee", that won seven awards at the Cape Town Silwerskerm festival, including for Best Director and Best Screenplay. [3]
Koleka Putuma is a South African queer poet and theatre-maker. She was nominated one of Okay Africa's most influential women in 2019.
Amanda Faku is a South African singer, performer and songwriter. Born and raised in the township of eZinyoka, Port Elizabeth, developed musical interest at the age of 6 and participated on church choirs. Faku rose to fame as a contestant on The Voice SA season 2 in 2017, prior to getting recognition in the music industry.
Elsy Wameyo, also known as ELSY, is a Kenyan Australian singer-songwriter and rapper, whose style ranges from hip hop to the fusion of traditional African music with contemporary rap and R&B. Based in Adelaide, South Australia, Wameyo was awarded Young Kenyan of the Year in 2018, and won People's Choice Best Hip Hop Award at the annual South Australian Music Awards in 2019. Her first studio album, Saints Sinner, was released in July 2024.
Kewpie (1942–2012) was a South African drag queen and hairdresser. She was a gender fluid individual who preferred feminine pronouns. Kewpie worked as a hairdresser in District Six and her salon became the center of the queer and drag community. She performed under the stage name of Capucine. Kewpie's large collection of photos is owned by the Gay and Lesbian Memory in Action (GALA) and documents queer life during apartheid.
Ayanda Daweti, also known by his stage name Tuckshop Bafanaz, is a South African actor and musician. He is best known for his role 'Chumani Langa' in the popular television serial Scandal!.
Since the early 1980s, South African hip-hop has grown significantly as both a musical and social movement. It started in the Cape Flats area of Cape Town in the early 1980s. The first all-female hip-hop group was Yo Girls, who also emerged in Cape Town in the 1980s. Over a decade later in 2002, the group Godessa became the first all-female hip hop group in South Africa to sign a record deal.
Resilient is the second EP album by South African rapper Dope Saint Jude. It was released on 2 November 2018 through her record label, Dope Saint Jude. The 5-track album was recorded in London and produced by London-based producers Pete ‘Boxsta’ Martin and Dantae Johnson.
Higher Self is the third extended play by South African rapper Dope Saint Jude. It was released on 2 April 2022 through the French record label, Yotanka. The 6-track album is composed of Dope Saint Jude's vocals combined with elements of alternative R&B and electronic music.
Nimona (Soundtrack from the Netflix Film) is the score album to the 2023 film of the same name directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane. The score composed by Christophe Beck consisted of a "classical and traditional music representing the fairytale past" and infused with punk rock and metal genres, to accompany the story and its characters. It also accompanies a soundtrack that consisted of contemporary hits from popular artists handpicked by the music supervisor Kier Lehman.
Yogin Rajoo Sullaphen is a South African composer, music producer, live-looper and multi-instrumentalist. He is a member of the musical duo uKhoiKhoi, where his live-looping practices are a feature of their stage performances. Sullaphen is also known for composing and performing as part of theatre productions and performance art projects, which has earned him two nominations for Naledi Theatre Awards, which recognize excellence in South African theatre.
Angelo Antonio Valerio, better known as Ange Madame, formerly Angel-Ho is a South African producer, rapper, vocalist and performance artist. Best known for her song Like A Girl, her musical style has been described as experimental, (post-)industrial, pop and neo-pop. She is also a co-founder of the now-defunct collective and independent record label NON Worldwide.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
| Other | |
