Fifi Cooper | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Refilwe Boingotlo Moeketsi |
| Also known as | Motswako First lady |
| Born | 24 October 1991 Montshiwa, Mahikeng, North West, South Africa [1] |
| Genres | Motswako, R&B, hip hop |
| Occupation(s) | singer-songwriter, rapper |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels |
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Refilwe Boingotlo Moeketsi (born 24 October 1991), known professionally as Fifi Cooper is a South African recording artist. [2] Fifi Cooper started her music career as an R&B singer before her musical versatility saw her release her breakthrough rap single "Chechela Morago" in 2010. [3] In 2015, she released her award-winning debut studio album 20FIFI . [4] [5]
Fifi Cooper is the last of three children. She had her early education in Montshiwa, Mahikeng, South Africa, where she also harnessed her ability in singing and dancing. She completed her secondary school education at Batswana High School, Mahikeng and her higher education at Boston Media House where she studied Media. [6] [7]
Fifi Cooper began singing at the age of 8 while in primary school; participating in various social extra-curricula activities. She professionally started her music career in 2008 when she made a guest appearance on Mo'Molemi's Motzamai: Rebel With a Pause album. Her breakthrough however came in 2010 following the release of her single titled "Chechela Morago", a rap song that received massive airplay and did well to gain her new grounds in the South African music industry. [8] [9] Fifi Cooper also made vocal appearances in the remix of AKA's "Baddest Remix" single, Mo'Molemi's album titled Asia, Khuli Chana's Lost in Time and Lection's Gentlemen's Club. [6]
In 2015, Fifi Cooper signed a recording contract with Ambitiouz Entertainment, a South Africa-based record label. In early 2015, she released an AB Crazy-produced song titled "Kisses". The music video for "Kisses" was directed by Dino Benedetti and was released on YouTube on 24 May 2015.
On 13 November 2015, Fifi Cooper released 20FIFI , her debut studio album which won three awards at the 15th Metro FM Music Awards [10] and was further nominated in the "Best Newcomer of The Year" and "Best Female Artist of The Year" categories at the 2nd edition of the South African Music Awards. [11] In February 2017, Fifi Cooper departed from Ambitiouz Entertainment along with A-Reece and the hip hop duo B3nchMarQ. [12] [13]
After the departure from her former record label, she founded her own record label Mo Cooper records and later then released her first album under her very own record label. The 21 track album titled "Take Me Back" which includes hit songs such as "Freedom & "Zwagala", features the likes of Thabsie, Moozlie, Towdeemac and Leon Lee to name a few. [14]
In November 2020, Fifi Cooper released her first single "Net So" off of her upcoming 2021 album titled Chapters. The music video for "Net So" which was shot by Mo Cooper Visuals, is also written & directed by The Boss Lady herself. On 11 March 2021, her single "Motlogeleng" was released. [15] The song will serve as lead single from her upcoming album.
Regarded by the local media as the "Motswako first lady", Fifi Coopers' musical versatility can see her rap and sing. Credited as the vocalist on Khuli Chana's hit single "Mnatebawen", she does the hip hop and Motswako genres of music. [16] In an interview with YoMzansi, Fifi Cooper describes her style of rap as "unpredictable, punchy and hearty". [17]
| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| 20FIFI |
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| Take Me Back |
|
Fifi Cooper is a single mother, she has a son named Resego. [16]
 |
| Year | Award ceremony | Prize | Work/Recipient | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 15th Metro FM Music Awards | Best Newcomer | Herself | Won | [19] |
| Best Produced Album | 20FIFI | Won | [19] | ||
| Best Female Album | Won | [20] | |||
| 2016 | 22nd South African Music Awards | Newcomer of the Year | Herself | Nominated | [21] |
| Female Artist of the Year | Nominated | [21] | |||
| 2023 | Basadi in Music Awards | Hip Hop Artist of the Year | "Ngeke" featuring Lwah Ndlunkulu | Nominated | [22] [23] |
Motswako is a Southern African subgenre of hip hop popular in South Africa. It consists of a mix of rap lyrics in both the local language (Setswana) and English layered on a steady beat. Other languages used include Sesotho, Zulu and Afrikaans as per the rapper's origin. The genre gained popularity in the late nineties as South African acts like HHP and Baphixile started rapping in Setswana, resulting in an increased following from the local population. Because of its reputation in South Africa most of the upcoming artists use this genre as a base before they start their music careers because of its basic principles, a good motswako artist have to learn the creative writing skills used to perfect the genre making it easy to learn and write music. Today there is a high pool of motswako artists in Botswana and South Africa with few females artists.
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Avery is the debut studio album by South African rapper and singer Emtee, released on 4 December 2015, through Ambitiouz Entertainment.
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Ambitiouz Entertainment is a South African independent record label owned and founded by Kgosi Mahumapelo. The label was founded in April 2015 and houses notable acts including, G-Star Da Hustler, Burning Crew Kid Tini and Kiddest Gola.
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| Authority control: Artists |
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