Libianca Rejects Rigid Genre Labels

Libianca has said she does not want her music to be confined to a single genre, arguing that artists should be free to draw from different musical traditions.

The singer made the comments during an interview on the Big Convo segment of the Culture Daily morning show on 3Music TV and Pluzz 89.9 FM, where she discussed the evolution of her sound from her early recordings to her current work.

“I don’t really necessarily agree with the system of categorising the genres of music,” she said.

Libianca described herself as a “fusion” artiste, saying her music draws from different influences rather than fitting neatly into one category.

“Whatever song that I drop, just know that it’s a fusion of some things. And Afro influences would definitely be somewhere in there,” she said.

Her approach reflects a musical background shaped by both Africa and the United States.

Born in Minnesota and raised partly in Cameroon, Libianca has previously described her childhood exposure to Cameroonian music, gospel, R&B and other African sounds as important to her development.

During the Culture Daily interview, she named Cameroonian artists including Ben Decca, Grace Decca, Charlotte Dipanda and Longue Longue among the music she listened to while growing up.

She also cited international artistes including Chris Brown, Rihanna and Keri Hilson.

Nigerian music was another major influence. Libianca said she was particularly obsessed with P-Square and listened to their music extensively.

She said those influences eventually blended with the music she discovered after moving to the United States.

“I think in the beginning, I sounded more like my influences. But the more I kept writing and the more I kept being in studios, the more I started to find my sound,” she said.

Libianca also noted that her music is still evolving.

“I’m always in a constant state of becoming,” she said.

The singer also discussed the effort she made to retain elements of her Cameroonian identity in her singing.

She explained that her early recordings were heavily influenced by an American accent. At one point, she would listen back to her vocals and feel that they lacked the sound of Bamenda, where she spent part of her childhood.

She therefore began deliberately re-recording some vocals to bring more of that identity into her music.

Libianca said there was no pressure from her family or Cameroon to sound more African.

Instead, she made the decision herself because she wanted listeners from Cameroon to be able to connect more easily with her music.

The singer’s multicultural background has been cited as an influence on her music, with her official biography describing her upbringing across Cameroon and the US and the influence of English, French and Pidgin on her artistic identity.

Libianca also questioned the usefulness of rigid genre classifications, particularly when music contains elements of several styles.

She suggested that categories such as Afro-Soul and Afro-R&B may better reflect the way contemporary music is created.

She compared genres to primary colours, arguing that different combinations can produce something new.

For Libianca, the freedom to experiment is central to being an artist.

“We create art. You don’t want to be boxed,” she noted.

Her latest music continues that approach. Her July 2026 single I Know, featuring Ghanaian artist ZeeBoy, is officially classified as Afro-Pop, while her earlier catalogue has drawn from Afrosoul, R&B and Afrobeat influences.