Emmerson

Emmerson Amidu Bockarie (stage name Emmerson) is a Sierra Leonean Afropop singer who has become well known in his country for lyrics that promote social change, and that criticise corruption in the government of Sierra Leone. He sings in the Krio and English languages. Bockarie was born in kenema. He dropped out of a computer engineering programme at the Njala University to pursue his aspirations in music. His first release was a mixtape called Bodyguard Compilation, Volume One (2002), which contained an original single, "Yu Go See Am". A studio album followed in October 2004: Borbor Belleh, with supporting vocals by Velma "Vee" Richards. His later albums include 2 Fut Arata (2007), Yesterday Betteh Pass Tiday (2010), Rise (2012), Kokobeh (2013), Home and Away (2014), and Survivor (2016). In May 2017 he released a new single, "Love Me". Among his previous singles are "Telescope" (2015) and "Tutu Pati".One of Emmerson's anticorruption-themed protest songs, "Borbor Bele" (which means "Potbellied Boy"), helped inspire the populace to vote the Sierra Leone People's Party out of office in favour of the All People's Congress, in the Sierra Leonean general election, 2007.