There is a new merrem in town and she is taking over the TikTok app with her big personality and straight-talking, no-nonsense commentary and infectious personality.
Her birth name is Jess-Lee Moses and she is a 24-year-old Tourism student at CPUT, currently in her final year.
The Ravensmead meisie is known as @meremfifi26 to her followers and her TikTok following currently stands at 125 000 followers with over 2.1 million likes and over 1.6 million views on her hashtag.
She personifies what the app is all about, which is just to stiek uit and be lekker.
Speaking to Jess-Lee, she said that she started on TikTok when the lockdown happened and just followed the trends, but things really started happening when she made videos where she spoke her mind.
Jess-Lee says: “Ek moet sê dat die app het my nogal baie gehelp. Ek was ’n baie to-myself person, but vandat ek TikTok gejoin het, het dit my confidence gebou.”
She goes on to say: “Dinge wat ek gewoonlik vir myself gehou het, deel ek nou.
“Soes my ma altyd se, ek is ’n baie stil mens en ’n sterk mens en ek issie een wat altyd kla oor dinge wat my seer maak of soe nie.
“Soe as sy sien ek praat in ʼn video oor goetes wat ek nie met hulle deel nie, dan sal sy maar note vat.”
Jess-Lee is also a proud mother and has been giving her all to be there for her daughter.
She says that she fell pregnant while she was still at school and wants other young women out there to know that what happens in your youth does not define your future.
People thought her life was over at that stage, but she can confidently say she has completed her matric; now her studies, and her daughter is her biggest blessing.
The one thing I admire about her is that she says TikTok is not about the likes and the views, it’s more about going onto the app to be yourself.
She says: “Jy moet lekker en jouself wees.”
It is clear when your watch her videos that she is real and herself even when she dances.
She comes across as that girl who everyone likes in the area and we all know someone like her; I’m sure when people first saw her, they thought “van waar ken ek nou weer vir haar?”
Her dancing on TikTok is a representation of a coloured girl wat kan dans, wie biesag is om te dans by a party, giving herself ’n tyd and people love it.
When asked if she ever thought she would have this meteoric rise in popularity and be in this position, she says: “Ek het nooit gedink dit sal tot so ’n punt kom nie, maar as die Here jou hart ken, en Hy weet dat jy dit doen met alles in jou, dan sal Hy vir jou help.
“Soe sit net jou vertroue innie Here en hy sal alles vir jou uitsort.”
To the youth, she says, if they want to do TikTok or anything in life, they must just go for it and be themselves and know that there will always be negative people, no matter how good you are.
But, she says: “Jy gaan net aan met die plan, kap aan, gie die hond sy kos want die hond is los.”
In my opinion, @meremfifi26 is a perfect representative and voice for the Cape Flats community and for women across the board, and I believe that as she grows in life, so too will her message.
Follow @meremfifi26 on TikTok for daily updates and videos.