Gloria Boateng
Singer
Rapper/ producer
“I grew up in a Belgian foster family. My mother was sick and could not take care of me because of that, and for particular legal reasons my Ghanaian father could not gain custody. I met him for the first time just three years ago; it seemed he had been living in Amsterdam the whole time. Up until a little while ago, I had never consciously identified with my African roots. The rehearsal process for this performance is like school for me: it is a lesson about South Africa, apartheid, Winnie Mandela – I am getting to know it all. I am opening up and undergoing change; there is a lot happening to me.
It is a childhood dream come true to work on this production. I am from the hip-hop world: I am a producer, a rapper, and a beat-maker. Before this, I had never danced or acted professionally. But now I do! Every morning when I wake up, I think, ‘Wow.’”