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Rapper Badmómzjay: “I’ve never been ashamed of my poverty”
Raised in complete poverty in East Berlin, rapper Badmómzjay is Germany’s youngest female rapper at number one in the charts at the age of 17
© Universal Music
She was never afraid of staying poor, says rapper Badmómzjay in an interview with star. Because she didn’t know anything else in her childhood. But with their success came the fear of slipping back into poverty.
The corona pandemic has hit children from poverty-stricken families hard. In Germany that means: every fourth child. One of these children was the musician Badmómzjay for a long time. “War” – simple past! Because Jordy Napieray has managed to become one of the most successful musicians of our time. Strictly speaking, she is the first woman to be number one in the German charts at the age of 17. And that already four times. But age has never played a role for the confident Jordy. Since the seventh grade she has been coloring her hair red and messing with all classmates who hit her on the head and shout “Buzzer”. In tenth grade she noticed that she found the cartoon characters Kim Possible and Lara Croft attractive, googled “girl kisses girl” and posted on Facebook: “Hey guys, by the way, I’m into women.” When she can’t sleep one night, she types her first rap text into the notes on her smartphone on a friend’s couch. A label deal at Universal follows. Three years and many study sessions later, her song “Ohne dich” landed at number one. Although her debut album “badmómz” is only now being released, the 19-year-old has been something of a role model for thousands of teenagers in Germany for several years now, like the young Steffi Graf for their parents: a role model.
Badmómzjay: “I was a child without a childhood!”
In an interview with the star 19 year old Jordy tells what it means to grow up in poverty as a child and describes the first moment when she became aware of the difficult situation of her family: “I noticed that my family is poor when I was in first grade Suddenly I was sitting between some Lisas who lived in large houses and were given horses by their parents, while the electricity was turned off again at home. For these Lisas I was just an assistant “.
Her childhood, the rapper says today, hardened her. Because she had to fight to survive. How honest and self-confident the 19-year-old appears, thinks and speaks can also be seen in a conversation with star clearly: “Sometimes people tell me which playgrounds they played in as a child, which books they were read, which children’s series they were allowed to watch. I don’t know any of that. I was a child without a childhood. I was born and had to be an adult No child should know what it looks like when parents yell at each other, when glasses fly through the apartment, when people are hit and when friends die. “
“I’m still Jordy from the Block”
© Universal Music
There would have been many evenings when the electricity was turned off or her mother couldn’t give her anything but a slice of bread. While other children grumble when they don’t like something, Jordy just ate what came on their plate. Because she knew that everything threatened to collapse if she caused her overworked mother even more problems. Today, many years later, she talks in conversation with the star about the strange feeling of sitting in expensive restaurants with her mother and label boss. But with the success of the last few years came the fear: “As a child I accepted my poverty. I never thought that the situation of my family would change at some point. Today I am afraid of slipping back into poverty. And I’m afraid that people will forget me and my music again, and I’ll never let go of that fear.Once you know what it looks like on the other side, you won’t forget it. “
You can read the full interview with the rapper Badmómzjay on stern PLUS.