Sisters Keepers were initially a subset of the band

Brothers Keepers Brothers Keepers is a German-based transnational anti-racism project, bringing together hip hop, reggae and soul musicians, headed primarily by Afro-Germans. Their debut single, "Adriano-Letzte Warnung", was written in response to the murder of ...

, formed in the autumn of 2001 in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, joined a compilation album ''Lightkultur'' (WEA) by the Brothers Keepers. Appealing against

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

, famous female and mainly

Afro-German Afro-Germans (german: Afrodeutsche) or Black Germans (german: schwarze Deutsche) are people of Sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or residents of Germany. Cities such as Hamburg and Frankfurt, which were formerly centres of occupatio ...

singers joined together with

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

Soul music Soul music is a popular music genre that originated in the African American community throughout the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It has its roots in African-American gospel music and rhythm and blues. Soul music became po ...

and Hip-Hop background.

Initial members

Among others for the members of the original Sisters Keepers were

Nadja Benaissa Nadja Benaissa (born 26 April 1982) is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame in late 2000 when she auditioned for the German adaption of the reality television show ''Popstars'' and became a member of the girl group No An ...

Ayọ Joy Olasunmibo Ogunmakin (born 14 September 1980), known professionally as Ayọ, is a German singer, songwriter and actress. She uses the Yoruba translation Ayọ or Ayo. of her first name ''Joy''. Her debut album '' Joyful'', released in 2006, ...

, Kaye, Nicole Hadfield (), and Tamika, along with Tesiree, Lisa,

Mamadee Mamadie Wappler (born 12 September 1979), known professionally as Mamadee, is a German reggae singer. Family Mamadee grew up with her parents, two sisters, and her grandparents in a small village called Altrottmannsdorf, near Zwickau as the y ...

, Pat and Meli (Skills en Masse, Ischen Impossible) with Onejiru (Pielina Schindler). "Liebe Und Verstand" was their largest hit on chart in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

and

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

between December 2001 to February 2002, as many African artists joined together to form a musical statement. With two songs, both released on the album ''Lightkultur'' by Brothers Keepers (WEA), they took a stand against racism and violence.

"Sisters eV" against racism and violence

Actually, the members held positions among loose circle of network of female singers, or sisters. Starting in 2004, the "Sisters eV" functioned with emphasis on activities for gender equality as well as protest against violence and racism, and environmental issues that Onejiru and Mamadee took the initiative. Among the list of female singers they worked with, Ngosi Madubuko and Angela Ordu are from Siberian music, who were two of the supporters close to the group. In 2005, Sisters Keepers was renamed to "Sisters", and acted independent from Brothers Keepers there on. The Sisters started with Onejiru, Mamadee, Meli, Namusoke, Tamika and Nicole Hadfield (Groove Guerilla) and Lisa Cash coming in and out, and they represented

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

at the

Bundesvision Song Contest 2008 The Bundesvision Song Contest 2008 was the fourth edition of the annual Bundesvision Song Contest musical event. The contest was held on 14 February 2008 at the TUI Arena in Hanover, Lower Saxony, following Oomph! feat. Marta Jandová's win in the ...

to claim he fourteenth place with "Unite". In September 2008, they toured Germany, produced by (Turtle Bay Country Club.) The same year, the first album ''Gender Riot'' was released.

Role models for girls and women

Since 2010, Onejiru, Meli and Nicole Hadfield have been the core of the group with Mamadee, Tamika and Namusoke extending the act, and altogether they were black German female singers involved and supporting social and educational causes at schools. With

Plan A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with details of timing and resources, used to achieve an objective to do something. It is commonly understood as a temporal set of intended actions through which one expects to achieve a goal. F ...

to empower girls and young women, Sisters participated in the "

Because I am a Girl Because I Am a Girl is an international movement by the aid organization Plan. The campaign is made to address the issue of gender discrimination around the world."Discrimination against girls 'still deeply entrenched'", ''The Independent'', 15 May ...

". project, and have been the ambassadors for the campaign since 2010. It was extended in the summer of 2011, when they toured

Brasil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area an ...

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

, as well as cities in Germany for "Girls go for Goals". They celebrated the first inaugural

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

International Day of the Girl International Day of the Girl Child is an international observance day declared by the United Nations; it is also called the Day of Girls and the International Day of the Girl. October 11, 2012, was the first Day of the Girl Child. The observatio ...

with

Plan International Plan International is a development and humanitarian organisation which works in over 75 countries across Africa, the Americas, and Asia to advance children’s rights and equality for girls. Its focus is on child protection, education, child par ...

on October 11, 2012 when Onejiru, Melanie Wharton and Nicole Hadfield performed in New York City singing the song "Because I am a Girl". realizing UN World Girls Day is a campaign to have equal rights for girls and boys. During their visit to NYC, the Sisters performed at the

BB King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shimm ...

Blues Club in NY.

Brothers Keepers and Sisters Keepers

It is evident that there is an absence of female musicians in most music videos by the Sisters' brother band, Brothers Keepers. Many saw this as an absence from Afro-German ''volk'' envisioned by the Brothers and as drawing attention to the constitutive female outside of this mode of racial unity. The Brothers success and overbearing presence in music videos authorizes this female version of Afro-Germaness, forcefully visually transforming to hegemonic codes of femininity. Within it, there is a strong desire to envisage collectivity beyond peoplehood and the simultaneous failure to do so in Afro-German pop music and diaspora discourse underlines the nagging pervasiveness of this category and pressing need for alternatives.

Discography

* 2001 Single "Liebe und Verstand" * 2001 "Sister" (included in the album ''Lightkultur'' by BK, WEA) * 2008 Single and Album ''Gender Riots'' * "Because I am a Girl" by Sisters for Plan International Campaign "Because I am a girl" (www.biaag.de)

References