“Heeee he, Djovana has arrived…” – with this legendary line, Nilsa rose to fame in the late 1990s as a member of the hip-hop group Djovana. Since then, she has often been referred to as the “Queen of Mozambican Hip-Hop.”
Today, Nilsa has been living in Switzerland for more than 25 years and works as a singer-songwriter at the crossroads of Mozambique’s musical traditions and contemporary influences from jazz, world music, and pop.
With her new singles Sofala and Emilia, she shares deeply personal stories:
“In Sofala, I search for my musical roots. The song takes me back to my childhood with my grandmother in rural Mozambique—without television or telephones, in a world shaped by community, dance, and music,” says Nilsa. “At the heart of the song is Utsi, a traditional dance accompanied by drummers.”
Speaking about Emilia, she explains: “The song was inspired by an encounter with my niece. When I told her how beautiful she had become, she confidently replied, ‘I know.’ Emilia is a loving message to young women, encouraging them not to rely solely on their beauty, but to pursue their own path, seek education, and become independent.”
