Dominican emcee La Nefera presents the music video for “Odio”, the new single from A LO HECHO PECHO!, her forthcoming album set to feature Arianna Puello as well as production from Pearlbeatz, Meister Lampe, DJ Tron and Jakebeatz (who directed the music video for PW Films). Born in the Dominican Republic, La Nefera moved to Switzerland in her teens, forming the WS Crew which released the Nuestra Frequenzia EP in 2009. She is also part of female group Vybezbilder, which released the Skillz On Fire album in 2015 (stream on Soundcloud). “Odio” was produced by Switzerland-based producer Sharp de Brazl. “Odio” denounces the abuse of power and competition-promoting behaviors and structures. I criticize people who rip off and abuse others and spread hate and envy.” When asked about her inspirations, La Nefera says “I draw my inspiration from my life experiences, and also being a social worker and being in touch with a lot of different characters.” A LO HECHO PECHO! drops September 2016 on Empire Music, the Swiss record label led by CEO Matthieu “MDB” Siegenthaler whose team is responsible for releases with Sonny Seeza (ONYX), Saigon, N.B.S., Mr. Cheeks (Lost Boyz) and more.
How did you get your stage name?
When I was young I never liked my real name Jennifer. Because I wasn’t like the other girls named the same. So I started looking for something that would match better with my character. In summer 2004 we visited a good friend of my mom in Spain/Alicante and there she told me you ain’t “Jepele” (my nickname as a lil girl) anymore now you are “Nefera”. She gave me this name because where she lived, there were a lot of Arabic people in the neighbourhood as well as a girl called Nefera that looked like me. I really felt in love with this name. So I googled it and found out that this name is derived from Nefertiti/Nofretete meaning "the beautiful one has come". Nofretete was the chief wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh “Echnaton” and lived in the 14th Century BC. There are speculations that she governed equated to the Pharaoh or even alone when her husband died. So I thought, yes man this is the kind of female power I love, that’s my name now!!!
What made you decide to become a rapper?
I never thought I would be a rapper. I was a dancer since I can remember. But getting older I started writing for myself. I was often in the studio singing something for some friends. But they never wanted me beside them on stage, they just saw women as background dancers or as a pretty side dish. So I started getting mad about this role allocation. After hearing Shawnna’s album “Worth Tha Weight” (DTP) I thought damn her flow is harder than a lot of men I’ve ever heard. So she aroused my interest to flow this hard in Spanish. I remember at the age of 17 I asked a young music producer if I can also get a beat for my lyrics and he first looked from my head to my feet and laughed. Then he said maybe you can get one it depends on how good you will satisfy me sexually. I got so angry. This was the moment I decided to kill each one of them musically.
What’s the first rap song you ever heard? Describe the moment.
Oh yes, I think the first rap song I ever heard was Coolio with Gangster’s Paradise. I loved the chorus. I had goose bumps every time I heard these voices in the background. I loved also the movie “Dangerous Minds”. I was 6 years old I think and this was the time I told everyone that someday I’m gonna be president of the D.R. So seeing this woman trying to give those kids an opportunity for a better future really inspired me.
How did “Odio” come together?
“Odio” means ‘hate’. With “Odio” I criticize hate groups. Unfortunately most groups need a common enemy in their identification process to get strong and this is almost always a victim who can’t defend himself or herself. This is an observation of mine as social worker with the adolescents I work with but I can also speak from my experiences as a dark skinned immigrant. I think this fact is connected with the system which supports competition-promoting behaviors and structures. People are so busy with comparing each other and trying to be something better than they are and steady try to keep someone down. You can also clearly observe this in the working world: people without scruples often get a high position.
Who is your favorite rapper of all time and why?
Few years ago I discovered Apache & Canserbero. This guys have so deep and authentic lyrics. Being social activists, they were really word acrobats doing conscious rap. I was fascinated and impressed by their huge vocabulary and the way they describe life situations and feelings. Apache is the tightest spanish rapper I ever heard. And Canserbero’s voice was unique and his freestyle skills were admirable. Unfortunately Canserbero committed suicide last year. So one of the most talented rapper in the spanish spoken area is gone. I was really sad about this but in his songs he will live forever.
