Faith Terryson, who is known professionally as Faithvonic, is a Liberian singer and songwriter from Grand Bassa County. She is also a fashion designer, graphic designer, content creator, and video director. Faithvonic derived her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

from her first name and mother's name, and started writing and recording music in 2012. She signed a record deal with

Kimmie Weeks Kimmie Weeks (born December 6, 1981) is a Liberian human rights activist." ...

' KLW Entertainment in 2014, but left the label in 2016 after her contract expired. On February 14, 2021, she released her debut extended play, ''Rich with You'', to coincide with

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, throu ...

. She has released music to raise awareness about

Ebola Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after becom ...

and

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, and has partnered with ActionAid Liberia on several humanitarian projects. Faithvonic's music is a mixture of

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 ...

and hipco.

Life and career

1995–2008: Early life and education

Faithvonic is a member of the Bassa tribe. She has four siblings and was raised by a single mother; her father died when she was two years old. She was physically and mentally abused by her stepfather while growing up. She started singing at the age of 10, and used music as a

coping mechanism Coping refers to conscious strategies used to reduce unpleasant emotions. Coping strategies can be cognitions or behaviours and can be individual or social. Theories of coping Hundreds of coping strategies have been proposed in an attempt to ...

to deal with her childhood trauma. In 2008, she moved to the Philippines to study at

Southville International School and Colleges Southville International School and Colleges (SISC) is a private, non-sectarian school. Historical background Southville International School and Colleges was founded in 1990 as Southville International School. The school started by offering pr ...

. She also studied

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system (I ...

and

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscipli ...

at Starz College of Science and Technology in Liberia.

2012–present: Career beginnings, singles and ''Rich with You''

In 2012, Faithvonic started writing and recording her own music. She derived her stage name from her first name and mother's name Yvonne. In 2014, Faithvonic signed a record deal with KLW Entertainment, a record label owned by

Kimmie Weeks Kimmie Weeks (born December 6, 1981) is a Liberian human rights activist." ...

. That same year, she and other artists formed the music collective LATA, an acronym for Liberia Artists Together for Advancement. The group recorded "The Hope Song", a track that raises awareness about Liberia's Ebola virus epidemic; the song was created in partnership with ActionAid Liberia. In 2016, Faithvonic signed a new record deal with Nebo Records after her contract with KLW Entertainment expired. Her debut single under Nebo Records, titled "Come For Me", was released in April 2017. In August 2020, she partnered with ActionAid Liberia to release the

awareness song "Africa Fight". In January 2021, Faithvonic collaborated with DJ Weezy, Natif, Fullest 4, and Young Classic to release "Bassa First Bassa Last", the official County Meet song for Grand Bassa County. She lent vocals to Angel Dweh's

single "Come Over", which was released on January 15, 2021. On February 14, 2021, Faithvonic released her debut extended play, ''Rich with You'', to coincide with

. The EP has six tracks and features guest appearances from Stunna, T Crack, and Kpanto. It was initially intended to be released as an album but due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, her team decided to release it as an EP. Produced by Mr. Valuable and Stunnashine, all of the songs on ''Rich with You'' are personal and depict real life events. Faithvonic dedicated the EP's title track "Rich with You" to her fans and partner. In October 2022, Faithvonic released the single "Badway"; described as "an up-tempo, fast-paced ode to love", the song features vocals by Takun J and PCK. Faithvonic dedicated the song to lovers and newlyweds and said listeners would easily relate to it. She is a brand ambassador for several brands, including Glow Liberia, GC Luxury Beauty, and Zara Mall.

Humanitarian work

Faithvonic partnered with ActionAid Liberia to hold a public dialogue at Red Light Market, where she spoke to men about violence against women. She has also been involved with ActionAid Liberia's Safe Cities campaign and Activista youth network. Moreover, she is a Girls Rights ambassador for the NGO, and has helped empower young girls across Liberia to advocate for their rights. Faithvonic founded the "Speak Out Loud" foundation, an initiative that provides education for street sellers and underprivileged girls.

Artistry and influences

Faithvonic's music is a mixture of Afropop and hipco. In an interview with

Euronews Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective. The majority of Eurone ...

, she said she makes music to uplift people and that creating music helps her cope with personal trauma. The organization ActionAid stated that her music "amplify voices of young and often marginalized people" and "acts as a medium for creativity and innovation whilst raising awareness to change social behaviour". Faithvonic has cited

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954), or simply Oprah, is an American talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and philanthropist. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', br ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the " Queen of Latin Music" and is ...

, and

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, model and entrepreneur. She released her debut studio album, '' Goodies'' in 2004, which spawned four singles: " Goodies" (featuring Petey Pa ...

as her key influences.

Discography

EPs

*''Rich with You'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.faithvonicmusic.com/ Liberian women musicians Living people People from Grand Bassa County Liberian singers Liberian songwriters Bassa people (Liberia) Year of birth missing (living people)