WATCH: Assessa turns on the heat this year

Johannesburg-based female rapper, LindiweVeronica Skosana, is steadily making her way to stardom through her unique and authentic sound.

Skosana, popularly known as Assessa, found her love of rap through the art of freestyle and ciphers. In her rap career, she’s been influenced by hip-hop greats such as Pro Kid, Zulu Boy, Tumi and Foxy Brown.

She caught the eye of the public during her performance at the hip-hop festival, Back to the City, in 2014 and was the first female rapper in history to be in the line-up.

The 27-year-old said her style of music is traditional rap and is different from the mainstream sound.

Skosana hopes to bridge the gap between the youth and adults and wants everyone, regardless of their age, to be able to relate to her music.

“I grew up as a quiet child so music was the only way I could express myself,” she said.

“I am all about sending a good message because I do this from the bottom of my heart.”

As a female rapper, Skosana said there were many challenges that she had to overcome, including being underrated. However, her talent has shown through on several shows she has been booked for and over the past few months, her fan base has grown enormously.

Despite still trying to find her feet in the music industry, Skosana surprised many last year when she was crowned the Best Female Artist at the South African Hip-Hop Music Awards. She received the accolade ahead of well-known female rappers such as Gigi Lamayne, Fifi Cooper and Nadia Nakai.

On winning the award, Skosana said the recognition did not come as a surprise as she had been working hard on her music for a number of years. “I knew I was going to win. I have been there, even though I was not in the mainstream. I have been pushing underground and winning battles against male rappers.”

She said her ultimate dream this year was to perform at one of the biggest hip-hop festivals in Africa – Maftown Heights.