Kima Otung describes herself in this way: “I grew up with my 4 brothers and sisters in the Pontypridd, in the valleys of South Wales. My parents are Nigerian and the sounds of gospel music and Motown defined my childhood. When I was 14 years old I got accepted as the youngest member of the Welsh National Youth Opera, (emphasis East Portland Blog) which was a pivotal time for me. I connected to the music so much and classical music remains one of the greatest influences on my music to this day. Fast forward to today, I work as an artificial intelligence lawyer and balance that with music.”
Otung says her mission is to make “music for women, to help us really realise our greatness. I think we talk so much about women empowerment but we often completely neglect the fact that the greatest threat or asset to our empowerment is the long-term partner we choose. So much in pop culture is telling women to feel bad about ourselves, to settle, and to lower our standards (hook up culture, body shaming, ride or die narrative, situationships, side chicks etc.), but my mission, through my music, is to make women feel so good about themselves, that we expect more from the people around us, and from our partners. This is all inspired because of my personal experience with toxic relationships.”
And here’s the story behind “If Nobody Told You”: “I have been shielding for 5 months. I wrote my new single, ‘If Nobody Told You’, as an inspirational piece to lift spirits following long periods of isolation during lockdown. While shielding in my house and with so much craziness is happening in the world, (coronavirus, the Black Lives Matter protests), it’s so easy to feel powerless. Writing the song reminded me of how I believe God sees me. It was a reminder to me and everyone that we’re still loved, we’re still powerful, we’re still heard. We can make a lot of impact from our own homes.”
