At just 21 years old, Hackney-born Amahla has already shown in her short career that although her style may be old-school, with a soulful, enchanting energy that has seen her compared to legends such as Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill, her subject matter is anything but.
Firmly planted in 2019, Amahla has proved to be unafraid to put her political and moral feelings in her music, speaking out about women's issues, race, and the current political climate—subjects that are very relevant in today's society, but rarely spoken about by musicians. As she looks to release her new EP in February, the first single from it, "Dorothy's Verses", looks close to home, telling the story of her grandmother who was a survivor of domestic abuse and now suffers from Alzheimer's. The song pieces together the truth of Amahla's life through fragmented memories, brought to life with help from Amahla's detailed and diligent songwriting.
Speaking about the track, Amahla told Complex via email: "'Dorothy's Verses' is my grandmother's story of looking at her life through a new lens of Alzheimer's, but it's also about the need to hear women speak from their truths. We're now living through #MeToo, a movement where women are reclaiming their stories and pushing them into our collective memories; this is but just one verse."
