Swaziland’s royal princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini has seemingly strayed from what is considered the norm of royalty and launching a career in singing and rapping.
She believes her love for music and rap does not interfere with her role in the royal family and asserts that her future is with the monarchy.
Officially, she’s Her Royal Highness Princess Sikhanyiso Dlamini, principal princess of the Kingdom of Swaziland.But unofficially, she’s Pashu – singer and rapper in a country that is still deeply traditional.
Educated in England, then US and Australia, the princess began rapping as a teenager.
Yet as the king’s oldest daughter, she traveled home each year to help lead the annual Reed Dance, where tens of thousands of maidens dance topless in front of the king.
But the 28-year-old sees no contradiction between her love of rap and her role as a cultural custodian.
With over a dozen wives and more than twenty children, King Mswati III is the last absolute monarch in Africa.
Swaziland has frequently come under fire for its gross inequality – and its quashing of political dissent but the princess remains an ardent defender of the monarchy.
Pashu has become a regular on the Swazi music scene, sometimes even performing at government functions.But with a seat on the king’s advisory council and numerous charities to run, it’s the role of princess she’s playing hardest.
