Who I am. Rafiya. MJoTA 2013 v7n2 p0729
I was born in Los Angeles to Congolese parents: a diplomat father
and a sociologist mother.
Due to my father’s career, I traveled
extensively during myformative years: living in Congo (Democratic
Republic), the Cape Verde Islands, Benin, Senegal, Guinea, Barbados and
Ivory Coast.
I moved to Philadelphia in 2001 to attend Temple
University where I double-majored in Sociology and Spanish, and graduated in 2006 with honors.
Growing up in different countries, I worked with local artists, absorbing their techniques and
wisdom all the while enriching my sound.
I have worked with Oscar
Kidjo, recorded in Youssou N’Dour’s studio and toured France and North
Africa with French rap star, Mokobe.
Every passing collaboration,
studio session and performance strengthens my ever-present belief that I would be spending her life making music; making people smile, dance
and think.
I write and sing about the human experience in
French and English but regardless of your native tongue, passion
translates itself in the melody. Parlez-vous Rafiya?
