She recently bagged herself a SAFTA for her mini-movie, New Era Sessions (The Movie) and we finally understand why! Rouge is a phenomenal emcee and artist but we did not know what an articulate visual storyteller she was.
When she dropped her debut album, New Era Sessions and it debuted on no.2 on iTunes, a first for a SA female rapper, we knew that she was onto something special.
New Era Sessions (The Movie) accompanies Rouge’s debut album features entertainment heavyweights, Atandwa and Fikile Kani, the inimitable Denise Zimba and a debut appearance from Cassius Davids, depicts the story of a young woman on her journey of self-discovery.
It tells the story of Anna who is booked, in what seems to be a mental facility, and she is trying to find her purpose. Apart from the overall theme of the mini-movie and the fact that it ties in perfectly with the music, we are totally digging the theme of self-discovery and purpose.
In Part 1 we get introduced to the psychiatrist who also seems to be going through the most and her friend Naledi. To cut a long story short, Anna sees a music video of the artist, Rouge and decides that she wants to be exactly like her. In Part 2, which has just dropped, Anna has nailed exactly where she thinks she wants to be, she asks her doctor to help her make sense of it all.
Rouge has always been thoughtful in the kind of music she makes but I think that in this album she was able to condense plenty of over-arching themes. The themes we’ve picked up are: old school, trap, love and women empowerment and she addresses all of these in the album from such a relatable perspective. This mini-movie fleshes them out in such a lovely and articulate manner because when you see the visuals along with the story and the music it all makes sense.
Check out Part 2 below!
