KIMA OTUNG
Kima Otung is a Nigeria-born, Wales-raised, London-based 'genre-bending' contemporary R&B and neo soul artist. Kima released her powerful debut single, "Morning", in 2019 which was featured on ITV's Love Island and BBC Radio Wales. Her second single, "If Nobody Told You" was premiered by BBC Radio London where Kima did an interview, additionally, BBC Horizons named it as one of the top releases of the week. Kima released a music video for her latest single, "Welcome Home", in partnership with homelessness charity, Shelter, to highlight the issue of homelessness during lockdown. She has since been signed to Warner Music & W Songs publishing. Earlier this year, Music Insider named Kima as their Artist of the Month, and Madison Square Garden London has named her as one of their up and coming artists.
Kima makes her music for women; to help them realise their greatness. Her mission is for women to know their value, and raise their standards accordingly. Kima cheekily remarks that her aim is to "inception women's minds and hearts with the lyrics in her music, and make them feel so good about themselves that they demand more from the people around them." She continues, “we talk about women empowerment all the time, but we rarely talk about the fact that the greatest threat or asset to our empowerment is the partner we choose and the people we surround ourselves with. I want us to be unapologetic about expecting more of ourselves and others.”
Kima's love for music was cultivated when she was accepted as the youngest member of the Welsh National Youth Opera at 14 years old. The opera was directed by Tim Rhys Evans, the founder of Welsh choir Only Men Aloud. He was moved to tears by Kima’s audition and Kima was blown away by all of the talent in the Opera. Classical music, along with gospel music (which soundtracked the airways in her house during her childhood) still influence her sound to this day.
Kima has released her debut EP which is a reflection of what Kima stands for as an artist, standing boldly outside of the confines of her genre.
Having been signed to Warner Music publishing and awarded the PRS Foundation Women Make Music Award Kima's music was featured on this year's Love Island on ITV2 which resulted in it charting at number 6 on Shazam.