The Hip Hop African

By Shanell Holback

If I had to pick a song that was relatable to millions around the world, especially in modern times, “People (Check on Me)” by Libianca would be my pick 100 percent.

Born Libianca Fonji in St Paul, Minnesota the singers parents immigrated to the United States before she was born, but moved back to their hometown of Cameroon when she was four years due to issues her parents faced with immigration.

I came across the song ”People (Check on me) after R&B singer Chris Brown shared it on his Instagram story. The snippet was short but it was enough to have me search for the rest of the song.

“I been drinking more alcohol for the past five days/did you check on me?”

I couldn’t help but think: “dang, that’s real, we have to check on our people more, your folks could be suffering right in your face, but you wouldn’t even notice.”

Fonji told BBC.com in an interview earlier this year that she experiences cyclothymia, a rare mood disorder that causes emotional ups and downs. She told BBC that her inspiration to write the song started after she threw a thanksgiving party and spent most of the night crying in the bathroom. When she came back to the party, no one noticed the pain in her facial expressions.

Nobody will know the paranoia/Cuz I put a smile on my face/A facade you can never face/And if you don’t know me well well oh You won’t see how buried I am inside my grave.”

Libianca – People (Check on Me)

Hurt, and feeling ‘invisible’ Fonji decided that writing her pain would make feel productive and motivated. I am so glad she did. The song truly resonated with me in ways I can’t explain.

I always say check on your strong friends. As we all know It can become easy to get wrapped up in your everyday life, but still, it only takes a second to check on your people and you never know the impact one small gesture can make.