St. Catharines musician using his voice to support Africa

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He couldn’t sit around and do nothing, but Titus Miamen didn’t have a lot of options. So instead, he used the thing he did have: His voice.

Miamen, a.k.a. MT The Wise One, is a Liberian native who spent eight years in a refugee camp in Sierra Leone before arriving in Canada in 2010. Settling in Hamilton, he opened a music studio and worked as a producer, before moving down to Niagara.

Recently he switched from the producer’s chair to behind the microphone to record “No Africa,” a song he hopes will raise awareness about the poverty and corruption that pervades much of the African continent.

“Life in Africa right now is very difficult for many, many people,” he said.

Miamen recently returned to Liberia, the country where he was born, but had to flee due to civil war. The fighting cost his biological father his life. Now, at age 28, he wanted to return to Liberia to see what the country was like.

“Corona met me in Liberia,” he said, referring to the coronavirus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic and meant he had to stay in Liberia for much longer than he expected.

While he was there, Miamen was inspired to write “No Africa.” He likened the places he visited to a war zone of sorts, but a war zone not solely the result of military fighting.

“It’s a poverty war zone,” he said.

Miamen describes “No Africa” as a song “advocating conscientiousness among African people for a better lifestyle, (for) unity, education and development.”

“This song is a melodic Afro-type beat with a high level of positive energy throughout.”

The song is just his first step in a 2023 commitment to advocate for a better world. He recently heard the saying: the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing — and took it to heart.

He’s now encouraging everyone to speak up when they see injustice.

“No Africa” can be found on major platforms. Miamen said it’s also currently playing on several radio stations in a few African countries.

He’s currently working on a second song called “Don’t Be Like Me Son,” that’s a conversation with his late father. He hopes to release it this spring.

Miamen also has a dream of creating a network that will connect organizations in Africa working to end corruption and allow him to help the continent from his new home in Canada.

Source : Niagara Falls Review