Hip-Hop Artist from Cameroon Sona The Voice Set To Release: African Juju

March 5, 2009-- Milwaukee, WI-- Mega star Akon (of Senegal) and rapper K’naan (of Mogadishu) are two of the most recent artists from Africa to blow up on the American scene. Now comes another gifted MC from Milwaukee by way of the African country of Cameroon: Sona Lionel Ekumeri a.k.a Sona, The Voice. On his second opus, African Juju, set for a June 25 release, Sona proves that good hip-hop can come from any city, town, or village on the globe.

Richly textured and multi-layered in sound, the 11 track album gives voice to the the struggles of blacks in both America and Africa. On the track “Africa” Sona highlights the dichotomy between living in a country rich in natural resources but where people often go without electricity.

Sona’s journey to the US explains his drive and politically conscious lyrics. Just before he was born, Sona’s father, a computer engineer, moved to the US to pursue his career, leaving his two sons to be raised by his mother and grandmother and their seven children.

Sona’s childhood, unfortunately, was typical of most African children: poverty, misery, and crime surrounded him. Sona --which means gold and nobility-- and his older brother, Emmanuel were given a quick and swift lesson in street life, and by 8-years-old, Sona was conning dealers and negotiating street deals.

At 12, Sona was introduced to hip-hop when he heard a bootlegged version of Tupac’s, 2Pacalypse Now.

“Tupac blew my mind,” recalls Sona, of the first time he heard the American rapper. “Then there was Biggie and MC Solar from France was very popular. I knew it was going to change the course of my life,” says Sona, “Hip-Hop, and seeing a conman get beat and burnt to death in front of my eyes, that made me question what I wanted to do with my life.”

After freestyling 16 bars over a Sega Genesis instrumental (studios were hard to come by in Africa) Sona discovered his own gift for rap. Going by “Two brothers,” Sona and his brother won local rap competitions and Sona earned the rep as one of the best MC’s in Cameroon.

It wasn’t long before a local label wanted to sign Sona. But just as the deal was being finalized, Sona got a call from his father, inviting him and his brother to America. It was a chance of a lifetime and the brothers couldn’t say no.

After settling enrolling at the University of Wisconsin, Sona immersed himself in the local rap scene and quickly gained notoriety at school. In 2006, he founded his own label, Imperial Records and got back into the studio and started recording his debut album titled, Man in the Mirror. His first single “Dreams,” climbed on the #2 spot on the CMJ spot upon its release.