Dreams seem to be meant for very few people because just a few appear to live them. The belief in living one’s dream can sometimes be masked by a false sense of fulfillment that lacks true understanding. That for a true dream, with little or no flow of revenue, that “dream” would still be labeled a dream because of its entanglement with passion. This story has been told before and it usually ends with someone finally pursuing a thing called “passion.” But what makes it worth narrating, again, is the power that lies in living “the dream,” another story being unfurled by Congolese-American, Nicole Ngokwey.
In June 2010, Ngokwey was known to be a French and Spanish teacher at Gloucester High School in New Jersey as well as a soul singer in Philadelphia music circles. By mid-July, her former title had been dropped and now she strokes the strings of a full-time musician.
“When I was teaching and trying to advance my musical career, I wasn’t giving one hundred percent to the music, which was really what I wanted to do,” Ngokwey admits. “I love teaching and I still feel like I’m a teacher,” something that has inspired a desire to establish a school for children in her native Congo, which she intends to name “bolingo” translated as “love” in her language, Lingala.
Rarely does the world get to meet young teachers with that much passion for music buried inside of them. Ngokwey’s story becomes heartwarming when her students begin to follow her trail in support of her by commenting on her music videos on YouTube and even bonding. A few such comments read, “Omg that’s my teacher!” and “Hey it’s my teacher too; do you go to GCHS?”
Her students may not be ready to let go of her as their teacher and although Ngokwey admits to missing them and the art of teaching, she is ready to step out onto a new platform.
“It feels great!” she says of her resolve to finally devote more time to music. “It feels like once I made the decision, more things started coming to me. I have so many more shows than I’ve ever had. I have a couple of shows in July and August and I have a video that I did with a Mozambican artist and I’m also trying to be part of other competitions wherever they are.”
Ngokwey is currently one of remaining five finalists from part of 15 on NBC’s Talent Search show on which she performed live on July 21st; she is also trying out for another singing competition in Paris.
The Philadelphia-based Afro-soul singer, best known as Rafiya, attributes the origin of her stage name to the natural fiber, raffia. “It’s really popular in the Congo and my parents always talked about it so it was a name I always heard growing up that I really liked as well,” she adds. “It kind of reminds me of my culture, that I’m Congolese.”
A 2006 Temple University alumnus with a degree in Sociology and Spanish, this singer/songwriter is gradually creating her mark in historic Philadelphia. On August 7th, 2010 she performed at the 3rd Annual ACANA African Music Festival at Penn’s Landing as well as the 7th Annual Ma’at Celebration for African Independence Day at the Malcom X Park, both in Philadelphia.
When this teacher-cum-musician hits a note, there is no doubt she is meant to be on stage. Her debut album, “Amazing,” demonstrates her musical talent in a manner that is fresh and soulful.
“The reason why I chose that name,” she says of a title song, “Amazing,” on the album which eventually inspired the album title, “is because the song talks about how God is amazing and I thought that the fact that it was taking so long to put that project together made the album even more amazing.”
Indeed.
Ngokwey’s experience as a traveling youth, due to her father’s diplomatic career, seems to have sculpted her musical style and content. Her time in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cape Verde Islands, Senegal, Benin, Barbados, Ivory Coast and Guinea emerge in the form of cultural elements in her music, which is created in English, French, Portuguese and Lingala. One aspect of her lyrical content hovers around the human interest story, typical of a poignant song she made for Haiti, entitled “A Song for Haiti (You Are Not Abandoned),” after the country’s devastating earthquake on January 12, 2010.
But for every budding musician, it is important as well as rewarding to be able to work closely with creative minds in the industry. In addition to working with some of Africa’s influential music creators, including Oscar Kidjo, brother of Grammy-award winning singer, Angelique Kidjo, Ngokwey has also collaborated with Mozambican pop artist Marllen, and her France and North Africa tour with French rap star Mokobé has gained her a wider following.
Expect to hear more music from Ngokwey as she plans tours across the United States and Africa.
And as her musical career develops, perhaps so will confidence in her decision to take the route she has taken; it is evident in her voice when she states: “I just had a gut feeling that the time is now. I feel very positive.”