Candy Bowers has come a long way since growing up in Campbelltown in Sydney’s south west. A NIDA graduate and one half of duo Sista She, Bowers chats to Same Same about going solo and knowing what it’s like to be on the outer.

Half way through chatting to Candy Bowers about her upcoming one woman show Who’s That Chik? (A Hip Hop Tale of a Brown Girl with Big Dreams), she describes herself as, “hip hop slash cabaret slash feminist slash everything who was born where I was born and loves everything that I love.”

The official press material for the show makes more of her success as half of hip hop comedy duo Sista She and a recent Realize Your Dream award winner, but the tag line here also reads, “I wanna let the status quo know that this chick has had enough.” It’s a pretty neat sales pitch.

For all this seeming bravado, I can’t help wondering if Bowers is feeling nervous or exposed on the eve of her solo outing. “Yeah, totally exposed. I’ve gone from having this big hip-hop comedy identity to doing a show which is me talking and is raw and to the point. I’m bringing a voice and a vision to a marginalised community. I’m just telling people what I think, and I feel pretty blessed that I’ve got this amazing platform but I also know that I built it.”

Bower’s enthusiasm is pretty contagious and, while tastemakers and lawmakers continue to assume that their reality can be transposed onto all of us, her stint at the Arts Centre feels like a victory we should all share in. As a female hip-hop artist of mixed parentage, the struggles she’s faced (and still faces) are ultimately about representation and identity and will obviously resonate with a queer audience.

“I do a lot of work in queer communities and indigenous communities with kids who are like me and how I grew up, right on the edge but wanting to be on the stage or writing or making hip hop. I realise that people can say to us that we’re not supposed to do this, or ask how we’ll get work, but it’s kind of like, how could I do anything else? You’re looking at me like I’m different, whereas I’m myself and, if I still see myself as different to you or less than you in some way, I haven’t fully stepped into my power yet. For me, my show is a lot about that.”

Like I said, it’s a pretty neat sales pitch.

The Same Same Culture Club’s next event will be checking out Candy Bowers in Who’s That Chik? at the Melbourne Arts Centre.

Who’s That Chik? is a razor-sharp, personal and political ride through the highs and lows, blocks and flows of growing up brown with an afro and big dreams in Australia. Bower’s show is served up in her own hip hop comedy style – with plenty of sass, and a pinch of Lionel Richie to boot. This is the true story of Candy B, born to South African parents in North Dandenong.

The Same Same Culture Club event will be happening on Friday October 2 at the Arts Centre, with tickets for $20.

Who’s That Chik? runs from September 30 to October 4 as part of Full Tilt at The Arts Centre.

Watch Candy strut her stuff here: