Like a grenade, Libianca’s rising has taken everyone by surprise. It’s not been up to two months since this uprising 21-year old American-based singer blew up on TikTok, and started topping charts across major global streaming platforms with her song “People”, an irresistible anthem that is trending at the moment. It is fair to say that many music enthusiasts only got to discover her after her aforementioned song went viral, but she has been singing ever since she was a kid.
She wrote her own songs while she was still at a tender age and has continued like that till today, where she hasn’t only metamorphosed into a highly-skilled guitarist and song writer, but is on top of the world with her career.
While the world is watching her rise continuously to the top, it is still unclear to many people, who truly this young talented woman is, but after some research and findings, there are things that could be said about Libianca! One of the major talking points of her career, is the fact that she identifies with “Bamenda”, a major city in Cameroon, West Africa.
It might be surprising to many people to know that her parents are Cameroonian and that she spent most of her childhood there. However, from a musical perspective, it might not surprise many because Cameroon is reputed for good music and legendary artists like Manu Dibango, who shook the world with Makossa came from this part of the globe. Makossa in those days, just like Afrobeat nowadays, greatly influenced the careers of Michael Jackson, Rihanna, Shakira and many more.
Although Libianca has not blown up with the Makossa genre, but with Afrobeats, and while she could have identified with Americans or even Nigerians, she like UFC heavy weight champion Francis Ngannou, chose to identify with Cameroonians as she proudly identifies herself as being Cameroonian as she frequently mentions this in any interview where she is asked about her nationality. So, you are absolutely right if you thought Libianca was Cameroonian. It would have been easier for her to pretend to be Nigerian or to claim being Nigerian as most Nigerians assume that any African who is successful (and whose nationality is not known), is Nigerian. Can you blame them? After all, they have a winning and goal-getter mentality.
Just like Francis N’Gannou whose success at the UFC had and has little or nothing to do with support from Cameroonian’s, Libianca’s success and exposure isn’t either. Being the patriotic person she is, she chose to dedicate and acknowledge her roots, while many others in her shoe, who have played along with being labeled as “Nigerian” which would in-turn help their career to grow some, as Nigerians are known to identify and support with other Nigerians (especially in the music scene) who have made it or are internationally recognized.
Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2001, Libianca (whose full names are Libianca Kenzonkinboum Fonji) relocated to Cameroon at the age of four, where Libianca, her mother and siblings resided. She lived in Bamenda, located in the North West Region of Cameroon, and went to an all-girls Catholic boarding school in Bamenda called Our Lady of Lourdes, before later rejoining her father in the United States, where she furthered her education. Libianca’s religion is Christianity, which is undoubted, given that she always appreciates God and her fans on her social media pages. Her musical maturity expressed in her lyrics and performances, makes many doubt her age, but she is only 21-years-old.
In 2019, Libianca participated in The Voice, Season 21, a popular American TV show. The jury was made up of a-list artists namely; Ariana Grande, John Legend and Blake Shelton, who where she shocked everyone by choosing Blake Shelton over Ariana Grande as coach, revealing that her decision was spiritual as she had prayed to God before making that decision.
It should be noted that she has a full-time musical background, and she has been working as a mixing engineer, song writer and creative director in Minnesota. A couple of years after leaving “The Voice”, Libianca is probably living her dreams, after blowing up wildly with her song “People”, and getting international public endorsements by popular musicians like Chris Brown, only tells you what the future holds for her.
The publicity and exposure from “The Voice” might have plugged her with Sony Music, as the company is in charge of the singer’s music distribution.
