With all that hip-hop has offered us in its 50-year-and-counting lifespan, one of the greatest feats for the genre was embracing the female emcee. In 2024, women in rap have dominated the game in a way that almost eclipses the fellas, yet there’s still so much room to grow in the area.
That’s where burgeoning femcee Wande comes in. Born as Mutiat Yewande Isola in Nigeria, the 28-year-old found her calling while being raised in Austin, Texas. By way of Wande’s mother, a devout Christian amongst a family of Muslims, she was able to discover the Lord for herself and officially converted to Christianity in 7th grade. In the time since, she’s gone from a journalist to an A&R rep and now the next big Christian hip-hop artist helping us to define what “ELEV8” truly means!
SEE ALSO – Rewriting The Rules: Trailblazers of Revolutionized Christian Hip-Hop and R&B
Wande’s musical journey began in 2016 with the release of her debut single “No Flex” featuring ikilledmarlon. That led to a record label deal in 2019 with Reach Records, where she had been hired as a A&R just a year prior, and in 2020 came her official debut album, Exit. Thankfully she wasn’t making an attempt to escape stardom with that LP title, instead embarking on a career that’s seen her be embraced by the likes of Michelle Obama and Kirk Franklin, in addition to being featured in commercials for Apple and even ESPN.
“I’m honestly honored to be considered a ‘trailblazer’ of this growing genre,” Wande told us exclusively, confidently adding, “it helped shaped my life; I feel like Christian hip-hop really changed my outlook on life because the music I listen to really does influence me and my actions. For me to be a trailblazer of this new generation — I feel like I’m honored and so grateful to see that people’s lives are going to be impacted by the music that I make.”
Speak it into existence, sis — speak it into existence!
