Mon Rovia blends two identities in his music

We’re getting to know Mon Rovîa today on World Cafe.

He’s a singer-songwriter based in Chattanooga, Tenn., armed with a ukulele, a powerful voice and songs about protest and resilience.

He’s also Janjay Lowe and was born in Liberia during the country’s civil war. He never knew his father, lost his mother as an infant and was taken in by missionaries who became his adoptive family before eventually bringing him to the United States.

For years, Mon Rovîa wrestled with those two identities and music became the bridge between them. Today, he joins us to talk about his remarkable story, which unfolds on his debut album, Bloodline.

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