Rima Aanjay is a spoken word artist and community activist that was born and raised in Hampton Roads. Rima Aanjay’s work is influenced by the poverty and racism throughout the world today. Feeling powerless and invisible, Rima took her frustration to paper, and turned her pain into spoken word. Her commitment to bringing awareness to economic and social injustices destroying African American families has been her life’s mission. Her love for the black and brown community and hope for the future of children in these forgotten communities has been the driving force behind her artistry. She has transformed her poetry from handwritten words on a page into a strong militant voice.
Her musical journey began around nine years old. Growing up in a talented musical family afforded her the opportunity to be surrounded by different forms of music. It was through the hip hop platform that she developed her musical tastes, interests and style. After realizing that she was gifted in making music and spoken word, she began to showcase her talent in various venues across the states and eventfully created a name for herself. She was quickly noted for her unique radical voice for change.
This revolutionary warrior is one of the most ferocious lyricist, and a hypnotic powerhouse to her listeners. Rima Aanjay’s realism and lyrics have captivated the underground hip hop world. She is the voice for the voiceless in so many ways. To elegantly put it, she is the Billie Holiday of hip hop, spoken word of rap, and very well loved for her work.
Equally to her credit, Spoken Word, as she is affectionately known has an even larger following. She is best known for her poems such as Time, Eulogy, and A Victim of Society. Through spoken word, she has developed an activism platform that has helped to educate, inspire, and bring awareness to human rights issues in impoverished communities across the globe. The art of spoken word is the logic and reason of life combined with the spirit of truth! The heart is to the body as spoken word is to hip hop. When it is combined with metaphoric teachings through the rhythms of jazz, soul, funk, and blues, its complimentary style will “make the head nod because the neck knows it’s phat”. (Mad Skillz)
In 2013, she was nominated for the heart award through Liberated Muse; an organization based in our nation’s capital. She also published Make Some Noise, Psalm 33 and A Warriors Dream on MTV Artists Network in 2014. Shortly after, she published her first poetry book, Spoken Word for the Soul from the Soul. In 2015 she was nominated for Most Original Female Artists at the Underground Music Awards (UMA) 12th Annual event. Among the nominees present were: Dave East, Tink, Rapsody, Lazurus, etc.
Rima Aanjay has also performed at several poetry lounges including: Da Poetry Lounge and Bus Boys Poets and Lounge. She is also known throughout the world for her classic albums, Hip Hop Will Never Die and After the Pain. Even more than that, she is the author of Spoken Word for the Soul from the Soul. She has since become the revolutionary voice for change in local communities throughout the whole wide world.
Rima Aanjay 