South African rapper Gigi Lamayne has shared a heartfelt and honest conversation about her relationship with her father and how it has shaped her personal life. In a recent interview with Relebogile Mabotja on her podcast, the 30-year-old artist, whose real name is Genisis Cabiella Tina Manney, opened up about childhood trauma, learning to forgive, and finally finding love and peace in her life.
Gigi revealed that her parents divorced after a troubled and abusive marriage. The experience left her with deep emotional scars that affected how she saw love and built relationships.
“Daddy issues are a very serious thing because your dad is the first person you fall in love with,” she said. “I had seen him fail so many times, not just for my mother, but also for us.”
She explained that growing up without a healthy example of love made it difficult to trust and love properly. “There are all types of boys coming from all sorts of backgrounds, and you are not really sure how to love because the foundation that has been set was a very toxic one.”
But with time, Gigi says she started the journey of unlearning negative patterns and finding healing through forgiveness.
“So there’s lots of things that I had to unlearn, but with the unlearning came a lot of forgiveness. I’m now able to pick up the phone and speak to him,” she shared. “He always forgets my birthday, I always remember his, but I love him. And there is something he always said even in the toxicity of it all – that he is my father and I can’t change it.”
The rapper said her healing required her to see her father not just as someone who hurt her, but also as someone who had his own pain. “I just have to love him for how he is and understand how painful his past was. I have to forgive him for myself.”
Explaining why she chose to forgive him, she said, “If things remained the way they are, he’s going to die not feeling that he had an opportunity to say what he needed to say to me. And I was going to live with the silent guilt of knowing I didn’t give him the platform to do that. I met him, he was different, and I got the apologies – and they had to be enough for me.”
Along with her personal growth, Gigi also shared how her relationship with fellow rapper Reason (real name Sizwe Moeketsi) has brought peace and love into her life.
“It means that I am willing for him to teach me as much as he is willing to learn from me,” she said about their relationship. “It’s definitely putting the past behind us and understanding that we have pasts, but we’re looking to the future, and we’re led by spirit and God.”
Gigi described their love as strong and balanced. “That person becomes your best friend in every way. I’ve never been in a situation where my partner endorses and supports me the way I’ve always felt I have supported others. Finally, it feels like we’re competing to love each other – and that is such a nice feeling.”
She also spoke about being a stepmother to Reason’s children, a role she approaches with respect and care. “I’ve always maintained that it’s got nothing to do with me. I’m not here to mother anyone. I’m here to be the cool aunt if it happens,” she said.
“I’m really the girlfriend that minds her own business. I respect baby moms because it’s not easy. His kids come before me and anything else. As his helper, I have to be intentional in making him understand that if you don’t do right by them, then you’re not doing right by me.”
