Biography
Liberian-born vocalist Miatta Fahnbulleh stands among the continent’s most distinguished voices. Her lifelong urge to perform intensified at age sixteen, creating friction with her father, then serving as Liberia’s ambassador to Sierra Leone. In a conservative society that barred women—particularly the daughters of diplomats—from appearing in clubs or dance halls, she practiced her art in secrecy. Once she placed second in a talent competition she was forbidden to attend after her father discovered the event; the judges evaluated her solely from a submitted tape.
At nineteen, shortly after completing secondary school in Sierra Leone, she relocated to Nairobi, Kenya, intending to enroll in junior college. She soon abandoned those studies and headed to Monrovia to work as a disc jockey, an occupation that so enraged her father he removed her from his will and severed contact. Professional singing followed, and nightly earnings often exceeded what most Liberians made in an entire month. Shortly thereafter her father received a twenty-year prison sentence on charges of treason and related offenses. Concluding that Monrovia offered no prospects, she departed for New York City aboard a flight in 1968.
Upon arrival she quickly demonstrated her talent by entering a contest at the Apollo Theater and finishing second. In addition to performing, she composed and produced her own material. Despite these abilities, several missteps—poor counsel, misfortune, and an abiding suspicion that assistance would require sexual concessions incompatible with her Muslim upbringing—prevented any meaningful breakthrough in the United States. A promising collaboration with Donald Byrd collapsed when a mutual acquaintance persuaded her she was being exploited, causing her to withdraw before recording commenced. A subsequent agreement with Ed Townsend, the songwriter later responsible for Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” ended abruptly when Townsend’s studio was destroyed by fire amid an ongoing lawsuit between Townsend and Motown concerning the Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing.” No further contracts materialized, and she returned to Africa in 1974.
Her American sojourn did yield one lasting achievement: a degree in music and drama from the American Music & Dramatic Academy in New York. Back on the continent she began recording and performing in earnest, completing an album with Hugh Masekela in Lagos that remained unreleased for several years. She joined Masekela on a 1976 U.S. tour and later participated in the Festac festivals. For seven years she lived in England, the same country where she had attended boarding school for four years as a child. There she immersed herself in the local African community and earned widespread admiration before returning to Africa in 1984 to pursue activism, becoming a forceful advocate for women’s and children’s rights.
In 1990 Fahnbulleh was named a Goodwill Ambassador for ECOWAS, the sixteen-nation body dedicated to West African integration. The following year she received the same designation from the Liberian government. She has since produced and released multiple albums while contributing tracks to numerous compilations. Her singular artistry, comparable to a master painting, ensures that even a handful of her recordings will enrich any collection.
At nineteen, shortly after completing secondary school in Sierra Leone, she relocated to Nairobi, Kenya, intending to enroll in junior college. She soon abandoned those studies and headed to Monrovia to work as a disc jockey, an occupation that so enraged her father he removed her from his will and severed contact. Professional singing followed, and nightly earnings often exceeded what most Liberians made in an entire month. Shortly thereafter her father received a twenty-year prison sentence on charges of treason and related offenses. Concluding that Monrovia offered no prospects, she departed for New York City aboard a flight in 1968.
Upon arrival she quickly demonstrated her talent by entering a contest at the Apollo Theater and finishing second. In addition to performing, she composed and produced her own material. Despite these abilities, several missteps—poor counsel, misfortune, and an abiding suspicion that assistance would require sexual concessions incompatible with her Muslim upbringing—prevented any meaningful breakthrough in the United States. A promising collaboration with Donald Byrd collapsed when a mutual acquaintance persuaded her she was being exploited, causing her to withdraw before recording commenced. A subsequent agreement with Ed Townsend, the songwriter later responsible for Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On,” ended abruptly when Townsend’s studio was destroyed by fire amid an ongoing lawsuit between Townsend and Motown concerning the Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing.” No further contracts materialized, and she returned to Africa in 1974.
Her American sojourn did yield one lasting achievement: a degree in music and drama from the American Music & Dramatic Academy in New York. Back on the continent she began recording and performing in earnest, completing an album with Hugh Masekela in Lagos that remained unreleased for several years. She joined Masekela on a 1976 U.S. tour and later participated in the Festac festivals. For seven years she lived in England, the same country where she had attended boarding school for four years as a child. There she immersed herself in the local African community and earned widespread admiration before returning to Africa in 1984 to pursue activism, becoming a forceful advocate for women’s and children’s rights.
In 1990 Fahnbulleh was named a Goodwill Ambassador for ECOWAS, the sixteen-nation body dedicated to West African integration. The following year she received the same designation from the Liberian government. She has since produced and released multiple albums while contributing tracks to numerous compilations. Her singular artistry, comparable to a master painting, ensures that even a handful of her recordings will enrich any collection.
Singles
