The music of Liberia uses many tribal beats and often one of the native dialects, or vernacular. Liberian music includes traditional Gbema music, as well as the popular genre Hipco.
Shamele Mackie, known professionally as Papoose, is an American rapper. Well known for his freestyles and prolific mixtape output, Papoose has released four studio albums and 29 mixtapes since 1998.
Gilbert Bani, known by his stage name A-Q, is a Nigerian rapper and songwriter. His single "Agu Ji Ndi Men" was nominated for Best Rap Single at The Headies 2016.
Olanrewaju Ogunmefun, better known by his stage name Vector, is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter. He has released three studio albums, including State of Surprise and The Second Coming (2012). In anticipation of his second studio album, he released a mixtape titled Bar Racks. Lafíaji, his third studio album was released in December 2016. He also released a mixtape in October 2018, The Rap Dialogue, in an effort to keep the spirit of Nigerian hip-hop alive. In November 2019, his fourth studio album, Vibes Before Teslim: A Journey to Self-Discovery, was released.
Gregory Artus Frank, also known as Frank Artus, is a Liberian actor, director, and producer in the West African film industries.
Jon Kevin Freeman Jr., better known by his stage name Jon Connor, is an American rapper and record producer. Connor has released various mixtapes and an album effort during his career including the Jay-Z inspired The Blue Album, and the Eminem inspired The People's Rapper LP. His debut studio album, Unconscious State was released in 2013. Shortly thereafter, he was signed to Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment from 2013 to 2019, where he did not release an album. In 2015, he garnered notoriety for being featured on Dr. Dre's album Compton (2015) as well as The Game's album The Documentary 2.5 (2015).
Visitors to Liberia must obtain a visa from one of the Liberian diplomatic missions unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries. Yellow fever vaccination is required.
Tomas Henry Gaynor, known professionally as Allday, is an Australian rapper, singer and songwriter from Adelaide. Gaynor became active in 2011, when he began uploading his music for free online. Following his works becoming increasingly popular, he moved to Melbourne, to pursue a serious career before later relocating to Los Angeles in February 2017. His works have been influenced by acts such as Silverchair, Frank Ocean, and TLC. Gaynor released his debut album, Startup Cult, in July 2014 to Australian audiences. Startup Cult achieved success and reached number three on the ARIA Charts.
Jonathan Koffa, known professionally as Takun J, is a Liberian rapper, singer, songwriter and activist. He is regarded as one of the pioneers of hipco, a politically charged music genre. The Liberian Gender Ministry designated him as one of its anti-rape ambassadors. Takun J's music addresses socio-political issues in Liberia. He is best known for the singles "Who Make You Cry", "Police Man", "Gbagba is Corruption", and "A Song for Hawa". Takun J's debut studio album, The Time, was released in 2007. His second studio album, My Way, was released in December 2012. Takun J is the recipient of several accolades, including Male Artist of the Year and Hipco Artist of the Year at the 2014 Liberia Music Awards.
Alex Julius Kwesigabo, better known by his stage name Flex D'Paper, is a Ugandan rapper and songwriter born and raised in Kampala. Starting off his music career, Flex D'Paper was part of the high school rap group, The Rapaholix, which he started with friends, Dasper Cosine and later joined by Apass as an affiliate with whom the trio put out a mix tape, The Eviction Notice that included chart topping singles like "Burning", "Party Life" and "Follow Me" which topped countdowns in Uganda such as NTV and Sanyu FM. Flex D'Paper was part of the 2014 UG Cypher including the finest Ugandan rappers: Navio, Keko, Big Tril, Don MC, AirporTaxi rappers St. Nelly Sade, GNL Zamba, DJ Global, JB, The Mith, Ruyonga, and Atlas.
David Lawrence Brewster Jr., known professionally as Dave East, is an American rapper. East began his career in 2010, and gained attention in 2014 for his eighth mixtape, Black Rose. Its release caught the attention of fellow New York rapper Nas, who signed East to a recording contract with his label Mass Appeal Records in 2014, which entered a joint venture with Def Jam Recordings two years later.
Lehlogonolo Ronald Mataboge, known professionally as A-Reece, is a South African rapper, songwriter and record producer. He was raised in Pretoria, Gauteng.
Samuel Sonnyboy Tubman, better known as Scientific, is a Liberian rapper and songwriter who is currently based in Ghana. He released the Quincy B-assisted single "Shawty" in October 2014. Between 2014 and 2016, he won Best Hip Hop Artist at the Liberian Music Awards.
Christopher Christoph Nyenga, known professionally as Christoph the Change, is a Liberian rapper and songwriter. After releasing the hip-hop track "Take a Break", he was criticized for sounding "too American". He gained mainstream success in Liberia after releasing the Hipco songs "Papay God", "Heaven and Hell", and "Gbanna Man".
Soul Fresh is a Liberian hip hop duo. The Hipco group consists of JB and Shining Man.
Hipco, also referred to as HipCo or just 'Co, is a genre of hip hop from Liberia. It has been described by The Guardian as Liberia's "unique musical style" using "vernacular speech and political messages."
Daniel Tom George, who is known professionally as DenG, is a Liberian singer and songwriter from Bong County. He started his music career in 2000 as an R&B artist before making a guest appearance on Emma Smith's single "I Want to Go". DenG rose to prominence after being featured on Queen V's 2013 hit single "Jue You Bad". Following the success of "Jue You Bad", he switched from R&B to Afro pop. DenG released his debut studio album, New Seh, on August 23, 2023.
Hassan Bility is a Liberian journalist, and the founder and Director of the Global Justice and Research Project (GJRP), a non-governmental organization dedicated to the documentation of war time atrocities in Liberia and to assisting victims in their pursuit of justice for these crimes.
Korte Dorbor Bazzie, who is known professionally as Kobazzie, is a Liberian singer and songwriter from Voinjama, Lofa County. He was inspired to pursue a career in music after hearing Quincy B's collaborative single with Tan Tan B, titled "State of Emergency". He is the recipient of several accolades, including New Artist of the Year at the 2016 Liberia Music Awards and Afropop Artist of the Year at the 2019 Tunes Liberia Music Awards.
Eric Torh, who is better known as Eric Geso, is a Liberian singer and songwriter. He is the recipient of several accolades, including Male Artist of the Year at the 2015 Liberia Music Awards and Best New Artist at the 2016 Liberian Entertainment Awards. His debut studio album, Aziooo, was released on May 15, 2019. It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2019 Liberia Music Awards and for Best Album/Mixtape/Compilation at the 2020 Tunes Liberia Music Awards. Geso released his second studio album, New Sound, on October 15, 2021. His music is a mixture of Afropop and Gbema.
