Painting a bigger picture: Senegal’s pioneering ‘first lady’ of graffiti

Artist, poet and singer, Dieynaba Sidibe, AKA Zeinixx, has made her way to the top of the country's male-dominated hip-hop scene and wants her messages of hope to inspire young women

When Dieynaba Sidibe discovered graffiti, it was love at first sight. She was 17 and had already begun experimenting with painting and drawing.

It was on TV. I was sitting in my living room and I saw people doing big walls and I thought, This is what I need'," the Senegalese artist says, one hoop earring shaking as she laughs. I don't like small things. I was doing big canvases, and I said to myself: A wall is a bigger surface for expression'."