Tshegofatso Angela Mogotsi – better known by her stage name, Angela Nimah – is a South African singer-songwriter,
founder and designer of crochet & knitwear clothing brand RVL, writer and illustrator. Since the age of 7, she had
always been in tune with her creative side. While other kids would play in the streets, she would spend most of her time reading, sketching and writing. Her passions were in music and poetry.
In school, she participated in extra mural art and dance classes, poetry and reading clubs. She studied visual arts and
design at The National School of Arts and after matriculating in 2009, she went on to study at Boston Media House in 2010, where she did a course in Multimedia Studies and majored in Journalism. Writing allowed her to delve into many categories; she wrote short stories, articles, songs, and essays. This would later become a reminder of her love for literacy and literature.
Influenced by R&B, soul, hip hop, jazz, tribal and funk, Angela Nimah drew out inspiration from artists like Erykah
Badu, Jill Scott, Lauryn Hill, Goapele, Simphiwe Dana, Cama Gwini, Zap Mama, Amel Larruiex, Musiq Soul Child,
Dwele and many other soul and jazz artists. The year 2012 was the kick-start to her music career. After a friend heard her music on Sound Cloud, he referred her to a sound engineer student from the Academy of Sound Engineering (ASE) at the SABC. It was there that she began recording her first compilation of music which she later self categorised as Voodoo Soul. Her first EP offering, The Avolution, produced by iamx, was released on April 18, 2014, which consists of 10 songs. Avolution is a “Go Green” concept which promotes a balanced spiritual life, mindfulness, and transcendence. AVOLUTION comes from the word Avocado and Evolution. Angela Nimah’s approach to The Avolution project was unconventional, given that 10 tracks is an unusual number for an EP, and as someone who’s constantly pushing boundaries and challenging society’s way of thinking, she apologetically exposes that in her lyrical content. Her second EP release, Diagnosis produced by Blister Jay Pop, which dropped on April 18, 2015, was a transition in her spiritual and personal growth. She touches on the overlooked stereotypes and stigmas attached to human complexities amongst artists and how that coincides with spirituality.
She openly and nakedly expresses her reality of what it’s like to be an unorthodox artist who is almost always boxed
into classifications based purely on her aesthetics, which she further states as being a perception: people will only see what they want to see without taking into consideration that artists are human too. The message transmuted into her third offering, The Odd One In produced beats by Mpho – released April 19, 2016. With a much mature sound, The Odd One In addresses issues of love, self-acceptance, change and starting over. It is a refelection of Angela Nimah’s consistent growth and persistence to share food-for-thought and healing.
She’s performed on stages like Ram Jam Soul Sundays, Bannister Hotel, The Loop hosted at The Lighthouse in
Melville, U-The Space in Pretoria, Word n Sound at Bassline in Newtown, Liquid Tongue Open Mic at OST in
Newtown, Cuddle Session at Nikki’s Oasis in Newtown, The Feminist Touch series in Diepkloof, Soweto, The Boom
Box Hip Hop show at Ko’Spotong in Braamfontein, Soweto Camp Festival 2016 & Nokturnvl Listening Session at
Kitcheners. As an entrepreneur and clothing designer she’s known for her crochet and knitwear designs under the brand RVL or Revolution Validates Life – A unisex brand but that caters mostly to women’s fashion. It aims to change the face of fashion trends in South Africa, bringing a rare but fresh look that promotes skill, arts and craft. Angela Nimah is also known for her regal and elegant style, which is apparent in her images.