ZAMAERA, one of Malaysia's notable female rappers, has been making waves with her music and creating a lasting impact on the local music industry.
The 28-year-old artiste, whose full name is Sharifah Zamaera Syed Zafilen Al Edros, also hopes to create a vibrant creative community by uplifting women and fostering a brighter future for female creatives in the country.
"I've been fortunate enough to have performed live in front of big audiences on a regular basis.
"But as a female rapper, I've also noticed how there's less female participation," said Zamaera, who rose to fame in 2017 with her single 'Helly Kelly'.
She was one of the songwriters for girl group Dolla's hit single, 'Dolla Make You Wanna', which was released in 2020.
That same year, she was handpicked by the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry (Motac) to represent Malaysia at the Asean-Korean Music Festival Round 2020.
The festival, organised by South Korea's Foreign Affairs Ministry, was aired on South Korea's national public channel KBS with the aim of fostering cultural exchanges through music.
"While the music scene is ever-growing and we are seeing more and more emerging female artistes today, I feel this should also be reflected in the opportunities provided to female creatives.
"From my observation, the percentage of female artistes performing at local music festivals or showcases nationwide is always much lower than their male counterparts.
"Last year alone, 84 per cent of performers who took part at more than 14 music festivals were male artistes.
"In the name of inclusivity, equality, and just a genuine love for the arts and culture, I want to see a brighter future for the female creatives of this nation.
"While there are more female artistes today, more opportunities should be created for them as well," said Zamaera, who is also the cousin of rapper-turned-politician Altimet.
With that in mind, the ambitious talent has walked the talk by organising Queendom Fest.
Touted as the country's first all-female music festival, it's set be held at LaLaport Bukit Bintang City Centre's Central Rooftop Garden on Dec 16.
The festival will also enlist a workforce made up of women to handle various tasks, from sound engineering to the vendors.
Aside from Zamaera as the headliner, the event will showcase the talents of nine other artistes, namely Dolla, Meliha, The Impatient Sisters, Lil Asian Thiccie, Hullera, SYA and Yunohoo, as well as deejays MJisvicious and Jovynn.
Inspired by local festivals like Good Vibes and Hausboom Music, where she has also performed, the rapper explained that it was high time a platform exclusively for female artistes was made available.
Zamaera added that she had originally planned for a tour in the country but decided instead to organise the all-female festival as it had never been done before in Malaysia.
Zamaera is also grateful for the support from the Communications and Digital Ministry via its Digital Content Fund which made Queendom Fest a possibility.
As this is her first time organising a music festival, Zamaera is also assisted by her co-organiser, TONGTONG Asia.
Taking notes from the success and failures of previous events, the artiste has been careful to enforce precautionary measures by requiring all performers to sign a contract not to violate performance guidelines.
The guidelines will include making sure performers stay away from making sensitive or derogatory statements and adhere to a dress code during the event.
"While we make sure that we value them as artistes and creatives, we also want to get the message across that there are still certain guidelines we have to follow.
"Alhamdulillah, all the artistes involved have been very understanding and cooperative," she said.
Apart from entertainment, the festival will also be a business and social hub for the day, where more than 40 female-owned business ventures have signed on to be part of Queendom Fest.