Black Coffee on being disabled and finding relief in opening up 

Three months ago,  Black Coffee revealed to his fans that he has been wearing a brace for his disabled arm. His decision to open up about this, he says, has left him more free.

At the age of 14, Black Coffee was involved in a taxi accident. This left him disabled on one of his arms.

Black Coffee was however still determined to make it as a DJ.

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In August, he made a post saying: “When I was young after the car accident I used to wear one and being a kid it was hard as kids can be mean so I decided to stop wearing it especially in public. It has taken me so much time to appear like this in public because of my own insecurities but I decided to post this picture not just because for years people had their own versions of my story‚ I did this for myself.”

Speaking on Kaya FM‚ Black Coffee said he didn’t want to be known as the DJ with a disability. He therefore did not talk about his hand earlier.

“It was a very important moment for me‚ to post that picture. When I started my career‚ I had to sit down and think how do I want to be known…I could have been that new DJ with a disability if I started out with the story…I completely shut that door.”

Opening up about his hand, he says, was difficult, but one that brought a feeling of relief and freedom.

“It’s been a long journey now on myself to deal with it quietly and finding strength. The people around me know that I wear a brace but it’s never been in public. The more I do it‚ I feel so free. Especially overseas I would‚ because no one knows who Black Coffee is and no one really cares. But locally people start staring and I had to get over that‚” he said.

He made a choice to no longer hide it because he felt more comfortable about his disability and wanted to show there was nothing wrong with embracing it.