When I look into the mirror I see my mother
I see a woman who’s collarbones have curved just a tad bit more up her shoulders
Back straight
Whose skin is extra coconut from all her self-care routines
When I look into the mirror I see grown and mature
I see a soul embodying a home so neatly kept
A traveller who bares prophesies as gifts
Who’s story is not conventional neither made up
But on purpose
When I look at my hands I see my father’s hands
I see a carpenter, a craftsman and a magician
When I look at my hair I see my father’s hair
Rooted and thick
Coily and kinky
When I look into the mirror I see change and evolution
I see history and faces I never knew
I see a bloodline
I see beauty and triumph
Angela Nimah, is a South African creative entrepreneur, musician, writer, illustrator, crochet designer and founder of crochet & knitwear clothing brand R V L™. She started taking interest in the arts at an early age. While other kids would play in the streets, she would spend time reading, sketching and writing. In school, she participated in extramural art and dance classes, poetry and reading clubs. She studied visual arts and design at The National School of Arts before matriculating in 2009. She then went on to study journalism and media studies. This would later become a reminder of her love for literacy and literature.
2012 was the kick-start to her music career. One of her friends from college heard her music and shortly after that she was introduced to Lex Makgothi, who was at the time studying sound engineering at the Academy of Sound Engineering (ASE) at the SABC. It was there that she began recording her first compilation of music which she self-categorised as Voodoo Soul.
Her first EP offering, The Avolution, produced by iamx, was released on April 18, 2014. The word Avolution is derived from the words ‘evolution’ and ‘avocardo’. Since green is the colour of growth, vegetation and fertilisation and evolution is about change and improvement, the EP supports the movement of going green and promotes balance and transformation. Her creative direction follows very few rules; pushing the envelope through her artistry by evoking society’s way of thinking.
Her second EP release, Diagnosis produced by Blister Jay Pop, released on April 18, 2015, was a transition in her spiritual and personal growth. The subject matter focuses on the stereotypes and stigmas attached to human conditions amongst artists and how those coincide with spirituality. She openly expresses her reality of what it’s like to be an unconventional artist who is almost always boxed into an idea based purely on her aesthetics, which in essence is just a perception: people will only see what they want to see without taking into consideration that artists are people too. The message transmuted into her third offering, The Odd One In produced by Mphozakai, released April 19, 2016. With a much mature sound, The Odd One addresses issues of love, self-acceptance, change and new beginnings. It aims to share food-for-thought and healing. She’s done two other collaborative EP projects with producer Emamkay (Ankh Mind); Sunday Nectar and Patterns in 2017 which was also the year she joined independent record and artist management label, Sacred Vision Music.
Influenced by R&B, soul, hip-hop, jazz, tribal and funk, Angela Nimah draws out inspiration from artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Aya, Goapele, Simphiwe Dana, Cama Gwini, Zap Mama, Amel Larruiex, Musiq Soul Child, Dwele and some of the more recent indie and soul artists.
She’s performed at Ram Jam Soul Sundays, Soweto Camp Festival, Where’s The Beef Women’s Expo, The Feminist Touch Series, The Boombox Hip Hop Show, Word N Sound open mics, Cuddle Sessions, 1Billion Rising, Woke Social in Pretoria, Kitcheners Bar, just to name a few. As an entrepreneur and clothing designer, she’s known for her crochet and knitwear designs under the brand RVL or Revolution Validates Life. The brand aims to change the ideas around fashion and fashion trends in South Africa, bringing a unique style through craftsmanship.