Today we’d like to introduce you to Victoria Kimani.
Victoria, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born in Torrence, CA to two Kenyan immigrant parents, making me a first-generation American, so my upbringing was very much so an African family being raised in Los Angeles. Naturally, that was a crazy mix and many cultural differences came into play while I was in middle school….So I definitely turned to the arts as an outlet very early on, I wanted to create what I felt I was missing in my life. I started writing poetry and eventually turned to songwriting and fashion design, that was what calmed my nerves growing up.
When I was 14, we took a mission trip to Benin City, Nigeria where we lived for two years, finishing high school in a 3rd world country was drastic and dramatic! I began recording my first songs in Kenya shortly after and that’s where my career took off. Id says that knowing my identity outside of Los Angeles made me appreciate what my birth city had to offer and made me very grateful for the lifestyle and freedom I had growing up in LA. this has been my most unique attribute especially in my art, I believe both spaces allowed me to cultivate a lane for myself that wasn’t so saturated and also somehow wasn’t so lonely, there are so many people like me in LA its kind of scary, and growing up here seeing so many people come and go and come back again to refuel their dreams & pursue their passions… its the perfect city to cultivate the “American dream”.
Has it been a smooth road?
Many of my struggles have been cultural. LA taught me to express myself & be free, and have a very laid back way of approaching life, but Africa makes me sit up straight and amplify my hustle, the lines for “morality” are also very defined as well.
Spending time in both environments and adding both values became bit confusing, for example I always say coming back home (Kenya) is like going back in time and being in LA is like stepping into the future… so try and imagine what that would be like for a loud Female Artist born & raised in LA, enjoying all the freedoms that people have fought for generations to be in a space where for example women and gays have little or no voice at all. The young creatives, the fashion kids, our space is not totally creatively defined or developed yet (even in our laws) …. but when I’m back in LA… it’s literally the pillar opposite!!
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I’m a recording artist if I could describe my sound, its a mixture of Afro-fusion, Pop – dancehall and R&B. It literally sounds like where I’ve grown up. The Afro Pop vibe and my upbringing/story is what sets me apart, both in LA and back in the African continent. I was developed in LA and in The motherland … Super cool! What I’m most proud of as an artist is a fact that I’ve been able to find myself and have a sound of my own. I’m also really blessed to have this growing fanbase.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Absolutely! There’s many smoke & mirrors in LA though if you are able to navigate the hype and focus on your goals and stick to your plan, its the perfect city to thrive in!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/victoriakimani
- Facebook: facebook.com/victoriakimani2
- Twitter: twitter.com/victoria_kimani
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