Rona ''Arcee'' Wignall (22), of Dunedin, was named in the latest NZ On Air ''making tracks'' funding round and would be given $10,000 to make a music video for her song Rebound.
Wignall shared her stage name of Arcee with a fictional female autobot character in the Transformers franchise - a female character among a mostly male cast.
Similarly, rap was historically an ''aggressive genre'' dominated by men but woman were ''coming out strong''.
''The females are coming - coming for you boys.''
Wignall was born in Manchester and moved to Wellington with her family when she was 11.
She was studying for a bachelor of music degree at the University of Otago, majoring in performance.
She had kept her Mancunian accent and included Kiwi slang in her rap.
Her recent performances included at a TEDx conference in Wellington and for residents in Dunedin retirement homes.
''Some weren't very coherent and loved it. Others dozed off and it was quite peaceful to watch.''
She missed out on previous NZ On Air funding for her song Go Hard, so a video was created in Dunedin on a shoestring budget.
The video was popular on YouTube and trended alongside a song with British singer Adele, Miss Wignall said.
Although the South was not traditionally known for its rappers, she believed the point of difference was a reason her song was popular online.
Rebound would be filmed in Dunedin and she planned to use a slow motion camera and a camera on a drone.
''This one will be massive ... It's easy now with a budget.''
The song was written in September, recorded in November and features Dunedin singer Rachel K.
She described her style as ''hiptronic'' - a mix of hip-hop and electronic - and a 13 track album including Rebound, would be released about May.
NZ On Air music manager Brendan Smyth said it was exciting when new artists had their music recorded and heard by audiences.
''The quality of songs we receive applications for is always very high and we generally fund about one-fifth of the applications.
''So, well done to Arcee and we look forward to hearing Rebound on the radio soon.''
