ROSIE
I
first saw Rosie perform a long time ago in a small
café, looking like a real Nubian queen. Later, we
hooked up again in Rotterdam and talked about art and
ambitions, freedom and choices. We share a lot. We
are two artists.
Rosie is an African woman who feels very much a part of the Dutch community. She loves Rotterdam and values the freedom of choice that the city gives her. Still, it’s only with her family in Cameroon that she feels she receives true unconditional love.
In many ways, she is a woman torn: she admires Africa - the music, the family – but tells me, ‘You can have sun and succulent tomatoes, but your soul can die in Cameroon, you have no choices.’ She knows that though things are getting better for African women, they are still not free to follow their dreams the way she does. ‘I’m living somewhere where I can be optimistic as well as fatalistic.’ She’s never had to deal with negative vibes or discrimination in Rotterdam, and thinks of herself as a role model for the immigrant (‘allochtone’) community. She speaks Dutch fluently, attends school, earns her own money - she belongs.
Rosie loves to be the centre of attention and discovered that she belonged on stage when she was young. Fascinated by MTV and Hollywood stars as a teenager, she figured making music is her calling. It’s something magical to her and now she’s in her third year at the music academy. There she’s discovering what it is to dedicate your life to being an artist: the hard work and how to find that tricky balance between the art and the business side of music.
She knows it’s hard to make a living out of music, but believes in a quote of Madonna’s: ‘as an artist you have to be as persistent as a cockroach.’ Rosie wants to reach the sky, to conquer the world: ‘everybody wants to be heard, to be a success!’ Despite her ambition she hasn’t lost sight of what her family love has taught her; that it’s important to stay grounded and true to yourself - especially when you’re a woman in the world of entertainment. It’s easy to loose yourself. For her, what she shows her audience needs to be the complete package, the true Rosie. If that means she will earn less money, so be it. If it doesn’t work out in the end, she knows she’s free to choose what to do next. She has enough passions in store.
Rosie is an African woman who feels very much a part of the Dutch community. She loves Rotterdam and values the freedom of choice that the city gives her. Still, it’s only with her family in Cameroon that she feels she receives true unconditional love.
In many ways, she is a woman torn: she admires Africa - the music, the family – but tells me, ‘You can have sun and succulent tomatoes, but your soul can die in Cameroon, you have no choices.’ She knows that though things are getting better for African women, they are still not free to follow their dreams the way she does. ‘I’m living somewhere where I can be optimistic as well as fatalistic.’ She’s never had to deal with negative vibes or discrimination in Rotterdam, and thinks of herself as a role model for the immigrant (‘allochtone’) community. She speaks Dutch fluently, attends school, earns her own money - she belongs.
Rosie loves to be the centre of attention and discovered that she belonged on stage when she was young. Fascinated by MTV and Hollywood stars as a teenager, she figured making music is her calling. It’s something magical to her and now she’s in her third year at the music academy. There she’s discovering what it is to dedicate your life to being an artist: the hard work and how to find that tricky balance between the art and the business side of music.
She knows it’s hard to make a living out of music, but believes in a quote of Madonna’s: ‘as an artist you have to be as persistent as a cockroach.’ Rosie wants to reach the sky, to conquer the world: ‘everybody wants to be heard, to be a success!’ Despite her ambition she hasn’t lost sight of what her family love has taught her; that it’s important to stay grounded and true to yourself - especially when you’re a woman in the world of entertainment. It’s easy to loose yourself. For her, what she shows her audience needs to be the complete package, the true Rosie. If that means she will earn less money, so be it. If it doesn’t work out in the end, she knows she’s free to choose what to do next. She has enough passions in store.