By: Mohamed Jalloh
Abubakarr Kamara who goes by the stage name ABOPE but also popularly called Limba Borbor (Limba Chief) is part of a family of four children.
The family hails from Mabanda, Kambia district, northwestern region of Sierra Leone in the west coast of the African continent.
He was born at the turn of the millennium on the 10th January 2000.
Even though he has lost his mother and younger sibling, he confirms that the rest of his family is happy and doing well.
The up and coming musical sensation attended the United Methodist Church (UMC) Baughman primary school at Brookfields, the government technical secondary school and further attained his West African senior secondary certificate at the Compassionate high school in Freetown, the country`s capital city.
There are several career paths to follow in life, but ABOPE reveals that he recognizes at an early age that music is a calling for him and his God-given talent, hence his motivation for becoming a musician.
What is different from ABOPE`s approach to music in Sierra Leone is his enthusiasm for singing in his native Limba tongue and his trending single `KOBERY` is a glowing testament to maintaining traditionalism in the Sierra Leone musical industry.
Abubakarr Kamara did not mince his words by way of disclosing that his burning desire is to witnessing the meteoric elevation and domination of Sierra Leonean traditional music globally.
“I always dream of a day when traditional music will be rated as the best music in the world and I hope to win the Grammy and other international awards one day in my musical career”, he affirms.
ABOPE is of the view that tradition is normally neglected in Sierra Leone, but went on to upholding that he has taken the oath to ensuring traditional music catches up or even overtakes other genres such as Afrobeat, American and Reggae music.
“The reason why Nigerian, Ghanaian and South African music is better appreciated in Africa and beyond is their love for tradition which is never compromised in the above mentioned countries as it happens in Sierra Leone”, he asserts.
He never hides the fact that he occasionally faces challenges from people who complain of not comprehending his Limba lyrics but noted that sometimes he seeks comfort by noticing that people are feeling and enthralled by his music whenever he performs on stage or when his music is played over the media.
Abubakarr Kamara is extremely optimistic in having a successful musical career and reveals plans to build a musical academy that is chock-full with traditional instruments, which according to him, is a way of promoting the genre to other up and coming talents.
ABOPE said his fans must look out for the return of the Limba chief through a life performance show by the 12 member crew of the New Vibration Empire (NVE) on 11th November 2023 at the ministry of works and infrastructure car park at New England Ville, Freetown.
Having watched his life performances on many occasions, ABOPE is adept at thrilling fans with robust and energetic dances, sending the audience berserk and haywire.
He extends appreciation to Jackson Blamo the Chief Executive Officer(CEO) of NVE by saying `Wali Wali` which means thank you in Limba for changing the lives of 12 youths through musical empowerment.
As is emphasized in his “Kobery” Lyrics, ABOPE admonished the youths not to sell their souls or snuff out the lives of others to become wealthy, he advised them to work hard for whatever they want to achieve in life.
It is important to noting that the NVE anthem and ABOPE`s song “KOBERY” can be accessed and viewed on YOUTUBE and www.radioairplay.com for personal convenience.