Hackney native, Amahla just released her latest song, “Dorothy’s Verses” and it is a must hear.
For someone who is currently flying under the radar (for the moment), Amahla has accomplished quite a lot. In 2018, and at the age of 21, she won the PRS Lynsey De Paul Prize for outstanding emerging female songwriters, as well as the second ever MOBO Awards X Help Musicians Grant. Not bad for somebody with 565 monthly listeners on Spotify. But “Dorothy’s Verses,” and the singer behind it, for that matter, is the perfect reason why numbers mean nothing.
Over the course of the four-minute song, Amahla shares the point of view of her grandmother, a survivor of domestic abuse who unfortunately is suffering from Alzheimer's. “'Dorothy’s Verses' is my grandmother’s story of looking at her life through a new lens of Alzheimer's,” Amahla says about the single. “But it’s also about the need to hear women speak from their truths. We’re living through Me Too, a movement where women are reclaiming their stories and pushing them into our collective memories, this is but/just one verse.” Remind me why Spotify numbers matter again?
“Dorothy’s Verses” sports a haunting pace. Amahla controls her vocals throughout the song, letting them drift in and out when necessary, and allowing them to crash like thunder when need be. It’s this self-control that makes Amahla so impressive. She possesses the vocal ability to knock your ears clean off your head, but doesn’t use that power lightly. She has no interest in flexing, but instead puts all the focus and effort into the subject matter, using her singing ability as a vehicle for her stories.
As the first single of 2019, Amahla is off to a great start with “Dorothy’s Verses.” Undoubtedly, more greatness is to come out of Hackney.
