Photo Credit: Gabe Gamboa
Vanessa Tha Finessa is not your typical rapper. Born and raised in Accra, Ghana, Vanessa had a unique and eye opening upbringing. As early as she can remember, hiplife (pre-contemporary Afrobeat) music was played in the home. Her uncle regularly listened to dancehall and reggae music, and she was exposed early to American pop music through TV and regular pop culture discourse. This amalgamation of sounds and genres heavily influenced her ear and later helped inform her own personal artistry.
What’s your relationship with your African heritage? How did it shape your persona?
I’m very African. West African, Ghanaian to be exact! (Ghanaian jollof always wins). I was born and raised in Ghana so it is and will always be a very big part of who I am.
Being Ghanaian is who I am, it’s in me. Africans are a very proud and confident people. I think that’s one of the major things I’ve gotten from my very rich heritage. I’m very unapologetically confident in who I am and happy to take up space just as I am. I view and move through the world differently as an African because society for so long has tried to make us feel shame for being us and being from the continent, but to me, there’s something so cool about being from the continent that is the source of life. I’m proud about it and it’s interesting watching the world start to catch up and indulge in our culture in recent years.
How come you never explored afrobeats until nowI don’t think I make “afrobeats” specifically, I would say I make more “afrofusion” which I think I’ve always explored in my music even if it’s just in beat selection because that’s where my ear gravitates to naturally.
What inspired the track specifically? Any life experiences behind it?
Honestly there wasn’t a specific thing that inspired the song. I was inspired but the production as it was being made by Smiles in the studio and the hook naturally came out. I was really excited about the hook because it’s the first time I’d tried using my voice & writing in a melodic way. I left the studio with just the hook the first day and went home to write the verses about my vision of a top notch baddie. I had a lot of fun with the track, I couldn’t believe I was somewhat “singing”.
What was your first exposure to music?
I would say my first exposure to music was church and also my uncle playing music at home. Most Ghanaians are very religious Christian’s, and so was my family. You kinda don’t have a choice but to go to church as a kid so I was exposed to a lot of twi & western gospel music. But in the same token my uncle, my moms brother who lived with us, used to always play reggae and dancehall music around the house all the time. That’s how I got to know who Bob Marley was at a young age.
