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Swedish rapper Silvana Imam uses her razor-sharp tongue to capture the movements taking place in society today, personifying a new generation along the way. The film is both an intimate love story and a unique look at the raucous early years of her career.
Director: Mika Gustafson, Olivia Kastebring, Christina Tsiobanelis
Share SILVANA with your community. Not only is the film inspiring on an artistic level, it raises issues in a raw and human manner, making it a truly influential piece of work.
Be inspired by the work of organizations such as Hip-Hop Sisters Network, which supports and promotes positive images of ethnic diversity by bringing together women in the entertainment and corporate worlds.
Learn about the organizations supporting LGBTI rights at ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association. With over 1,200 organizations, there is support for most regions in the world.
Fight racism at a fundamental level. ThoughtCo provides practical tips on “How to Fight Racism” in your daily life. Not everyone can carry a megaphone as Silvana does, but each of us can make an impact.
“Often girls come up to me and say ‘you got me into hip hop.’ That’s one of the biggest compliments I can get.”
Read more in the interview from Red Bull Music Academy.
“I don’t think about my sexual orientation when I create. I want to be respected for my music and art. I am not a politician. Do heterosexual men get these questions about what they do to make the world a safer place for homosexuals? If not, you really should ask them since they are the reason for this patriarchal system.”
Read the whole interview at Hornet.
“Silvana Imam Discusses Speaking out Against Neo-Nazi’s, Describes Swedish Rap & ‘Power Pussy’ ”
Watch the interview from Sway.
“I write songs about my life, and since I write through a lesbian-immigrant-woman’s perspective, it’s labeled as “political.” I’m letting people know how fucked up the world is through my art.”
Continue reading on Noisey.
Learn about the musical collective RMH formed by Silvana’s manager Babak Azarmi, featuring artists like Silvana Imam and Adam Tensta. Read the interview with Azarmi from Totally Stockholm.
RMH has now transformed into TRANS94. Babak Azarmi answers why in the article from Red Bull Music.
“Nobody gives us space to tell our stories so we must fight for that space without anyone’s help. I’ve been fighting for this location, waged war to tell my story and I need you to listen. I am Lithuanian-Arab and I’m SWEDISH. Third culture kid. Modern Swedish. Let us together create new traditions, we are all creators of our time.”
Watch 17-minute film Naturkraft Silvana released last year.
“The music has become freer, more widespread, and more international. Previously grounded in silos inside each individual country, artists are now reaching out to their neighbors much more while still rapping in their own languages. Cross-border collaboration is now the rule rather than the exception as language barriers are broken down.”
Read more on Scandinavian Traveler.
“Society has been craving a political medium that accurately speaks for its people, a craving so strong that it has shifted traditional political commentary to today’s most politically aware music genre: hip-hop.”
Continue reading on Consequence of Sound.
“It’s no secret that there’s been a longstanding stigma when it comes to homosexuality in hip-hop. Some artists have even had their rap careers tarnished by rumors that they were interested in someone of the same sex. But as a new generation of hip-hop consumers emerge, the culture is proving to be more open-minded than ever before.”
Read more on XXL Mag.
