Black Coffee shares first picture of injured arm
The We Dance Again hit maker says it has taken him such a long time to appear like this in public because of his own insecurities.
DJ Black Coffee performs during the Idols SA season 12, top 4 performances at the State Theatre on November 13, 2016 in Pretoria. Gallo images.
Nkosinathi ‘Black Coffee’ Maphumulo has left his followers inspired after recently sharing a picture of his injured arm for the first time on social media.
The popular DJ always covered the arm with long-sleeved clothing, putting his hand in his pockets, and leaving some wondering what it looked like.
But Black Coffee says those days are over, as he is no longer insecure about it. Coffee normally wears a brace around his arm, which he makes visible in the photo.
His insecurities started from a young age when some kids would make fun of him and say mean things to him, but it seems he’s working towards being comfortable in his ‘imperfections’, urging his followers to do the same.
“When I was young after the car accident I use 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.
“This is a big step for me personally, being able to walk freely without overthinking is such a great achievement for me, and I’m becoming more confident to do it more often.
“We all have little/big things that we don’t like about ourselves, and we often put ourselves down before other people do. I’m personally working towards breaking those chains in my space, and I believe with this I’m gonna unlock even more opportunities for myself. Don’t let anything pull you down,” he said.
“Fight for the best version of yourself.”
Black Coffee was, in 1990, involved in an accident that left him with a brachial plexus injury.
According to the medical dictionary, the brachial plexus is a group of nerves that originate in the spinal cord in the neck and travel down the arm. These nerves control the muscles of the shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand, as well as provide feeling in the arm.
Some brachial plexus injuries are minor, and will completely recover in several weeks. However, other injuries are severe enough and could cause some permanent disability in the arm, which explains how Black Coffee lost the use of his left arm.
“I used to hate this day.. every year it would depress me. But I’ve come a long way since then, and I’ve learnt so much about myself. Now I celebrate this day because it changed my life. Because of this day, I’ve learnt to push all the limits and I’ve worked twice as hard to realise my dreams in music,” Coffee said.
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