Emmerson Amidu Bockarie (born December 23, 1980), better known as Emmerson, is a Sierra Leonean
Afropop
African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. Many genres of po ...
singer and songwriter. His songs advocate
social change
Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations.
Definition
Social change may not refer to the notion of social progress or sociocult ...
, and he has gained recognition in his native Sierra Leone for his political themes that center on the corruption in the government. Emmerson sings in Krio and English.
Life and career
Bockarie was born in
Kenema
Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone (after Freetown and Bo, Sierra Leone, Bo), and the largest city in the country's Eastern Province, Sierra Leone, Eastern Province. It is the capital of Kenema District and a major economic center of ...
, Sierra Leone. He dropped out of a computer engineering program at
Njala University
Njala University (NU) is a public university located in Njala and Bo, Sierra Leone. It is the second largest university in Sierra Leone (after the Fourah Bay College) and is also part of the University of Sierra Leone. The largest and main camp ...
to pursue a career in music. His first musical release was a mixtape called ''Bodyguard Compilation, Volume One'' (2002), which contained the single "Yu Go See Am". Velma "Vee" Richards provided vocals for his debut studio album, ''Borbor Bele'', which was released in October 2004. The album's main topics of discussion were kleptocratic institutions and the ideologies and cultures that support them. The title track "Borbor Bele", which translates to "Potbellied Boy", is one of Emmerson's anti-corruption
protest song
A protest song is a song that is associated with a movement for social change and hence part of the broader category of ''topical'' songs (or songs connected to current events). It may be folk, classical, or commercial in genre.
Among social mov ...
s that expressed the anger and disenchantment Sierra Leoneans felt toward their rulers and leaders. "Borbor Bele" spoke about many of the reasons as to why the incumbent
Sierra Leone People's Party
The Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, along with its main political rival the All People's Congress (APC). It has been the ruling party in Sierra Leone since April 4, 2018. The SLPP do ...
should lose to the
All People's Congress
The All People's Congress (APC) is one of the two major political parties in Sierra Leone, the other being its main political rival the Sierra Leone People's Party (SLPP). The APC has been the main opposition party in Sierra Leone since 4 Apr ...
in the
2007 Sierra Leonean general election
General elections were held in Sierra Leone on 11 August 2007. Seven candidates competed in the first round of the presidential election;
Discography
Studio albums
*''Borbor Bele'' (2004)
*''2 Fut Arata'' (2007)
*''Yesterday Betteh Pass Tiday'' (2010)
*''Rise'' (2012)
*''Kokobeh'' (2013)
*''Home and Away'' (2014)
*''Survivor'' (2016)
See also
*
African popular music
African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop or Afro pop), like African traditional music, is vast and varied. Most contemporary genres of African popular music build on cross-pollination with western popular music. Many genres of po ...
*
Fela Kuti
Fela Aníkúlápó Kuti (born Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Ransome-Kuti; 15 October 1938 – 2 August 1997), also known as Abami Eda, was a Nigerian musician, bandleader, composer, political activist, and Pan-Africanist. He is regarded as the p ...
*
Michel Martelly
Michel Joseph Martelly (; born 12 February 1961) is a Haitian musician and politician who was the President of Haiti from May 2011 until February 2016. He was sanctioned by the Canadian Government for his involvement in human rights violations ...
*
Opposition (politics)
In politics, the opposition comprises one or more political party, political parties or other organized groups that are opposed, primarily ideology, ideologically, to the government (or, in American English, the Administration (government)#Uni ...