A top student with a remarkable talent for poetry and art, Gigi Lamayne isn’t only one of the best female rappers in the continent, she has also set an academic bar a little higher and graduated with great grades.
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Here’s a look at Gigi Lamayne’s biography and how she rose to fame.
Gigi Lamayne Age
Gigi Lamayne was born on the 7th of July 1994. She is 25-years-old.
Gigi Lamayne Early Life
Gigi Lamayne was born Genesis Gabriella Tina Manney.
She was raised by both her parents Colin Manney who is her father and Sarah Manney who is her mother.
Gigi Lamayne started writing poetry at 11 and with the support from her family, she continued working on her craft and she eventually entered the rap world at age 16.
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Her talent was noticed at an exchange programme in the United Kingdom under the Branson Scholarship programme where she was studying at Stowe School Buckingham.
Gigi Lamayne had a performance that took her to the runner up position as well as the DCS showdown East District in 2011.
Also read: Gigi Lamayne Sickened By Silent Celebs
Gigi Lamayne Education
She went to Dominican Convent School in Johannesburg.
After high school, she went to study at the University of Witwatersrand where she graduated with 4 distinctions and top of her media studies class.
She was awarded the media monitoring Africa prize at a prize-giving ceremony in 2016.
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Gigi Lamayne Career
Gigi Lamayne was recognised after she won the Best Rap category award while in High school and from thereon, she saw the opportunity to continue working on her craft as a rapper.
She had a professional career after she won the Jack Daniels Music Scouts competition, an event that she agrees catapulted her career.
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During her interview with Music In Africa, Gigi Lamayne mentioned,
“For people who know my history, I am a girl who grew up in a township and went to a model C school [white school]. So the African queen represents the Afrocentric side of me and obviously the 1800s theme represents my schooling: the school of thought that I was brought up in. So that’s not a coincidence. The last scene with the bandana and fur, that’s what happened when my two sides merged. That’s what they created, that’s Gigi right now. So that’s where we’re trying to go with that. And the part where I’m naked on the leaves, is a nod to Eve, the first woman on Earth.”
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Gigi Lamayne had been signed to Ambitiouz Records, but in 2018 she revealed that she was going independent, and thanked Ambitiouz for believing in her.
The rapper wrote: “So proud to say I am Indie and @hartrocsa is what I am focussing on. Thank you to all who mentioned like @Ambitiouz_Ent and believed I am ready to start my own empire, Bless!”
Gigi rode the wave of her new single, Bozza, which feature Mzansi’s finest, Kwesta in 2019.
In 2019, Gigi Lamaye was also invited to the International Music Conference in Amsterdam.
She posted on Instagram and made a reference to the fact that this was a first for Africa and made the promise to continue shining and working hard. In the process, she also thanked her #GigiGang in Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana for the love and support.
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“Happy to announce that I will be representing SA at this year’s International Music Conference in Amsterdam as an honorary guest and performer! All I’ve ever wanted to do was reach for the stars and land in the clouds! ⛅️ Thank you for prayers, well wishes and love! #GigiToTheWorld 🚀”
Gigi Lamayne Awards
Gigi Lamayne is an award-winning rapper who has been in the industry and has worked her way up to be one of the most recognized female rappers in the country and in the continent.
Here are her awards since her activity in music.
2013 – SA Hip Hop Awards – Best Female
2013 – SA Hip Hop Awards – Best Newcomer
2013 – SA Hip Hop Awards – Mixtape Of The Year
2014 – SA Hip Hop Awards – Best Female
2016 – Women: Real Architects Of Society Awards – Rising Star
2016 – SA Hip Hop Awards – Mixtape Of The Year
2019 – SA Hip Hop Awards – Best Female
Gigi Lamayne Relationship
Gigi Lamayne used to date fellow rapper DJ Citi Lyts, but she opened up about the abuse she suffered at his hands when she decided to end the relationship.
Gigi Lamayne has always kept her love life away from the media and never relieved anything about who she was dating.
However, it seems Gigi Lamayne has confirmed that she is back on the market and ready to mingle.
Gigi Lamayne Suicide
In November in 2018, Gigi Lamayne tweeted her birth date and her date of death – which left a lot of her fans on Twitter worried about her well-being.
In an exclusive interview with ZAlebs, Gigi had this to say about her suicide attempt,
“I tried to take my life. It was because of a buildup of things in my life, from society pressures to me questioning my existence. I felt like life was a lot. The cyberbullying is something I thought wasn’t getting to me because I’d read things and it wouldn’t get to me but I guess it went in subconsciously.”
Gigi says she started questioning her existence because she didn’t understand why life was unfair.
“I did everything by the book, I excelled at school, I didn’t get pregnant, I then excelled in university but things aren’t working for me. I seem strong but because of my past and conditioning, I’m easily bullied. I continue to get bullied and controlled because that’s all I know.”
She spent almost a week in hospital as she did not go through with it. Gigi Lamyne took to social media to let her fans know, she’s still holding on.
“Awake. Wasn’t time huh.”
Gigi Lamayne Endorsements
Gigi Lamayne has grown herself as a brand and she became one of the biggest female MC’s and through her success, she has scored a couple of endorsement deals.
Here’s a couple of lucrative endorsement deals she has landed in her career.
1. Puma
2. Avon
3. Captain Morgan
4. Bacardi
Gigi Lamayne Philanthropy
Gigi Lamayne isn’t only a remarkable musician but a philanthropist at heart. Seeing the inequality and rising numbers of poverty in the country, she decided to donate her designer clothes to young girls.
She took to Twitter where she encouraged her followers to bring clothes they no longer wear and join her in donating:
“Looking to drop off some clothes at a girls orphanage next week Thursday! Who would like to come? Bring clothes you don’t want or just an awesome smile Lunch on me afterwards”
“It is something I do every single year. I love giving people as we are family. I am just waiting for people to come forward. I am here to bring change with them. We just want to have fun with everyone. We know how this time of the year can be and we need each other more as Africans,” she said
Gigi Lamayne continues to show her impact in society and works on her craft as she is now under Dream Team records. She continues working her ranks up the ladder.
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Image credit: ZAlebs.com
