Feven

The commercial arrival of homegrown Swedish hip-hop in the mid-1990s, driven chiefly by Petter, unfolded within an exclusively male sphere. Once attention turned toward locating a major female counterpart, observers widely anticipated that Feven would assume the role. She was born in Eritrea and relocated to Sweden with her parents at age four. While attending high school she launched the group Shenaniganz alongside MCs Nougie, Blues, and Nappy; she also participated in Doughnut$$ and Greenhouse FX. Momentum built only after she spent six months residing in New York. On her return, Petter became the first to sign her as a female MC to Bananrepubliken, the country’s foremost hip-hop imprint, and she remained the sole woman included on the widely regarded anthology Sidewalk Headliners. In 2000 she issued the single “Dom Tio Budorden,” which received extensive radio airplay, and later that year delivered the debut album Hela Vägen Ut, which drew mixed critical notices.