By Charles Mgbolu
A powerful yet sultry voice is giving Francophone Afrobeats a flurry of attention on the global stage captivating fans of the genre.
The Cameroonian singer Libianca appeared from the blues in May 2023 to storm the Billboard Hot 100 Chart with her breakthrough single People, starting at number 39 and sparking strong interest from African music fans.
Until now, Afrobeats in the women’s category has been largely dominated by Nigerian artists, with artists such as Tiwa Savage, Ayra Starr, and Tems standing firm as the frontliners.
Afrobeats would rarely have Cameroon on its roll call, but the arrival of Libianca is convincingly changing that narrative, and locals are grateful for that.
’Thank you for putting Cameroon on the map’’ wrote @ArthurTsar on Libanca's page on X.
In September, she was nominated alongside industry heavyweights Burna Boy, Davido, Wizkid, Fireboy DML, Rema, and Ayra Starr in a hot new category at the MTV music video awards.
Even though the award eventually went to Rema from Nigeria, fans on social media praised her for firmly planting Cameroon in the face of the continent’s Gen Z (new generation) music fans.
She eventually went on to win the Best Central African Artist of the Year award at the HipTV Awards.
Music streaming giant Vevo also named her on the '2024 Global Artists to Watch' list.
Labianca is particularly praised for her tone and the uplifting messages in her songs, especially as Afrobeats is known more for entertaining beats.
''With everything going on in the world right now, this is what we needed,’’ wrote a fan, Mollymusic, on Instagram.
Libianca’s song People has more than 288.7 million official on-demand global streams with over 200 million views on Youtube.
Libianca was born in 2001 in Minneapolis, USA, but her family relocated to Cameroon when she was four years old.
She eventually moved back to Minneapolis at the age of 13, where she gradually began to establish herself as an artist.
Her background in America and Africa shows the rich tapestry of her music, which intertwines American and Cameroonian musical influences.
Libianca says she is only beginning to unload, and fans should watch out.
‘’Can’t wait to show you all what I’ve been working for; it’s been a long time coming...'' she wrote on X.
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