Dope Saint Jude

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Dope Saint Jude
Dope Saint Jude in 2022.
Dope Saint Jude in 2022.
Background information
Birth nameCatherine Saint Jude Pretorius
BornCape Town, South Africa
OriginSouth Africa
GenresHip Hop, RnB
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • singer
  • songwriter
  • music producer
Instrument(s)Vocals, keyboard
Years active2017–present
Websitewww.dopesaintjude.com

Catherine Saint Jude Pretorius, professionally known as Dope Saint Jude, is a South African rapper, singer, songwriter and music producer.

Early life[edit]

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]

Career[edit]

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]

In 2016, she collaborated with M.I.A. to be part of H&M’s awareness-raising campaign video for world recycle week.[3] In July 2016, Saint Jude released her self-produced debut EP, Reimagine.[4] In 2017, she was featured on the Jlin album, Black Origami.[5]

She has performed at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2017,[6] Stanford University in 2017[7] and Afropunk Festival Johannesburg in 2018.[8]

In November 2018, she released her second EP, Resilient.[9] The lead single, "Grrrl Like" was released in October 2018.[10] The song been used for the Apple TV show Dickinson,[11] 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,[12] and in the movie Nimona adapted from the graphic novel of the same name.[13]

In April 2022, she released her third EP, Higher Self.[14]

Artistry[edit]

Much of Dope Saint Jude's music has tackled issues of social justice, specifically LGBTQ and women's rights. As a queer colored woman, 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. [15]

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. [15]

Discography[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Shumba, Ano (8 November 2018). "SA's Dope Saint Jude gets featured on Apple Music". musicinafrica.net. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Dope Saint Jude messes with Cape Town's head". africasacountry.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  3. ^ "Dope Saint Jude Has a Right To Flex". okayafrica.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Rapper Dope Saint Jude has found her cause — it's reimagined and redefined". mg.co.za. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Jlin Announces Her Hugely Anticipated Sophomore Album". vice.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Dope Saint Jude: From Elsies River to jazz fest". iol.co.za. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  7. ^ "WATCH: Dope Saint Jude performs at Stanford University in California". news24.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  8. ^ "QUEER SOUTH AFRICAN ARTISTS DOPE SAINT JUDE AND ANGEL-HO JOIN THE CAPE TOWN ELECTRONIC MUSIC FESTIVAL LINE-UP". afropunk.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  9. ^ "Watch Dope Saint Jude And Her Friends Living Their Best Lives in The Music Video For 'Liddy'". okayafrica.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  10. ^ "Dope Saint Jude just released another punch-you-in-the-gut anthem". news24.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  11. ^ "South African musician Dope St Jude's track used in trailer for new Apple TV show". news24.com. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  12. ^ "UK-based Cape queer muso gains local fame". iol.co.za. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  13. ^ "'Nimona' review: A fantasy adventure with riot-grrrl energy". The Detroit News. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
  14. ^ "South African rapper Dope Saint Jude on her new EP 'Higher Self'". france24.com. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  15. ^ a b Haupt, Adam (31 August 2016). "Queering Hip-Hop, Queering the City: Dope Saint Jude's Transformative Politics". M/C Journal. 19 (4). doi:10.5204/mcj.1125. ISSN 1441-2616.

External links[edit]

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