Mon Rovîa traces his path from Liberia to the U.S. on ‘Bloodline’

Who is Mon Rovîa? 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.

This episode of World Cafe was produced and edited by Kimberly Junod.  Our digital producer is Miguel Perez. World Cafe‘s engineer is Chris Williams. Our programming and booking coordinator is Chelsea Johnson and our line producer is Will Loftus.