Enigmatic rapper Chika Oranika talks beauty standards, fatphobia and abortion rights with i-D's new Contributing Editor, Paloma Elsesser.
Chika Oranika’s voice echoes around the sun filled space of Mario Sorrenti’s Brooklyn studio. She’s busy doing her own make-up, mahogany coloured powder melting into her skin, getting ready to be shot. Chika has a fierce tenacity for how she’s represented and a radical and intelligent critique of culture. Right now Chika is in the midst of an unstoppable rise.
Alabama is at the forefront of the battle over reproductive rights, as it has long been in crisis surrounding the issue. I saw that really powerful freestyle you did onpassed that bill almost completely banning abortion. Why was it so important for you to do that? This law will take away a woman’s autonomy over her own body. It’s men making a decision about how you should use your body. It’s not even like we’re creating another law saying that men have to take care of their child — it takes two people to create a child. So we’re penalising women for how their bodies work. It makes me so sad to see women in Alabama feel like they’re voiceless.
Can we talk about beauty a bit too? I was absolutely rocked when I saw your Calvin Klein advert. You were my hero in that moment. It’s so important to represent all the nuances of identity and you really spoke to that. You’re beautiful, you’re black, you’re visibly plus size, you’re intelligent.
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