On the evening of March 8th, 2021, AMAKA kicked-off International Women’s History Month with a conversation between Kenyan cultural writer, Monica Kemoli-Savanne and pop star Victoria Kimani. Calling in after a road trip along the coast of Ghana, Victoria dropped gems for 30 minutes on the lessons she’s learnt on her journey as a singer-songwriter on the continent.
Growing up with a father who collects records and uncles who played the guitar, music has long been in Victoria’s life. From living in different cities in the United States to her move to Nairobi in 2014, her international background also played a part in the undeniable range of her sound.
Her inspirations? From “The Queen of African Pop”, Brenda Fassie to gospel heavyweights Yolanda Adams and Bebe & Cece Winans - she credits bold female vocalists for setting a path for her to follow. Stepping into these shoes hasn’t been easy, though.
Reflecting on the restrictions on self-expression in her high school years and judgement towards her fashion choices, Victoria had to make a conscious decision to be herself no matter what.
She’s been in a duo, was signed to Metta World Peace’s label, made music with Chocolate City, tried her hand at acting, and navigated the murky misogynoir of the music industry - taking her songs to pitch them to other artists. Now in 2021, her craft has aged beautifully and the sky’s the limit for Victoria Kimani.
Key Quotes from Victoria Kimani’s Instagram Live with AMAKA:
"Black girls are winning right now."
“If I didn't grow up in the States, I wouldn't have had this knowledge of rhythm and blues or blues altogether, or even country music...Because I mean, I had so many different friends. I had friends from Mexican friends in school. I had European friends and Black friends. I was exposed to a lot of different genres of music.”
“I've always been very inspired by Brenda Fassie from South Africa. She's a huge inspiration for me from a female pop artist’s perspective. Like she had this, "I don't give a damn attitude” very, very, very early, like before it was okay to. I just appreciated her presence. She was allowed to be loud. Even if she wasn't allowed to be, she did whatever she wanted to do...I did a little bit of vocal lessons in school but most of my training was trying to copy or emulate what Yolanda Adams or BeBe and CeCe Winans were doing. That was how I really understood like that R&B.”
“Love inspires me. Even if I may not have it or if I hadn't had it at the time like just desiring it, you know, and being able to paint what that looks like for you.”
“I wrote a record called, All About The Money by a Russian artist named Timati, featuring Timbaland. I'll never forget it. They told me I'm going to be on the record. I recorded it. Two weeks later, a video comes out (didn't even know they were shooting) and you got some Russian girl lip syncing my voice. They pretty much said, "Yeah. Black girls are not too hot in Russia. Yeah, we like your voice. We like your writing style, but you're not the aesthetic."
You can watch the full interview on our IGTV, below:
Image courtesy of Victoria Kimani