Emmerson Amidu Bockarie (born December 23, 1980), better known as Emmerson, is a

Sierra Leonean Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

African popular music, Afropop singer. His music focuses on political topics relating to corruption in the

government of Sierra Leone The government of Sierra Leone is the governing authority of the Republic of Sierra Leone, as established by the Sierra Leone Constitution. The Sierra Leone government is divided into three branches: the Executive branch, executive, legislative an ...

, and he has become well known in his country for lyrics that promote

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 ...

. He sings in the Krio and English languages.

Life and career

Bockarie was born in

Kenema Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone (after Freetown and Bo), and the largest city in the country's Eastern Province. It is the capital of Kenema District and a major economic center of the Eastern Province. At the 2015 national cens ...

, Sierra Leone. He dropped out of a computer engineering program at Njala University to pursue his aspirations in music. His first release was a mixtape called ''Bodyguard Compilation, Volume One'' (2002), which contained a single, "Yu Go See Am". A studio album, ''Borbor Belleh'', with supporting vocals by Velma "Vee" Richards, followed in October 2004. His later albums include ''2 Fut Arata'' (2007), ''Yesterday Betteh Pass Tiday'' (2010), ''Rise'' (2012), ''Kokobeh'' (2013), ''Home and Away'' (2014), and ''Survivor'' (2016). In May 2017 he released a new single, "Love Me". Among his previous singles are "Telescope" (2015) and "Tutu Pati". One of Emmerson's anti-corruption-themed

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, "Borbor Bele" (which means "Potbellied Boy"), spoke to the frustration and disillusionment Sierra Leoneans felt towards their leaders/ruling class. The album largely addressed the kleptocratic institutions and the culture and ideology that drives them. "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.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bockarie, Emmerson Living people Sierra Leonean male singers 21st-century male singers People from Kenema People from Freetown Mende people Political music artists 1977 births

Life and career

See also

References

Further reading

External links