Libianca isn’t just stepping into a new chapter—she’s rewriting the whole book on authenticity. Boldly leaning into her voice and vision, she’s doing more than showing up for herself—she’s showing up for every listener who sees their own struggles, triumphs, and growth reflected in her music. With a voice as unforgettable as her raw lyrics, Libianca’s artistry shatters boundaries and forges deep, lasting connections.
In an industry built on conformity, she is rewriting the rules. Her upcoming EP is her truth, unfiltered. “I just don’t give a f*** anymore,” Libianca candidly told GROWN in a recent interview, perfectly capturing her fearless, no-holds-barred approach.
Libianca doesn’t hold back when it comes to telling her story. She’s spilling the tea on what she’s really gone through in the music industry, exposing the parts no one talks about. “I just feel like people don’t talk about it enough,” she says candidly. “I’ve always made it a priority to be transparent with my audience, to be real with anyone who’s listening, because I refuse to mislead them. Something in me just doesn’t allow me to do that.”
After experiencing the buzz of her success, she entered all kinds of rooms, met all sorts of people—and what she found wasn’t what the industry promised. “I’m gonna tell my fans, my fam, what really goes down. They lied to me, and I’m gonna tell them the truth.” This unapologetic honesty has become the foundation of her music and persona: raw, no sugarcoating.
Referring to herself as a “musical chameleon,” she’s exploring genres and themes that push her beyond comfort, and she knows her fans are in for a surprise. “I can do anything that I will my voice to do,” she declared, her confidence evident. Her visual director, stunned by the new tracks, called it “something entirely different.” Libianca isn’t here to play it safe—she’s here to break the mold.
Audiences first met the Cameroonian-American singer on The Voice in 2021, where she grabbed the judges’ attention and fought her way into the final 20. But Libianca wasn’t just another singer. She was carving her own path, fiercely unapologetic.
The visibility from the show brought hard questions: who did she want to be? And where would her music take her? That journey of self-discovery became the catalyst for her transformation into the artist she is today. “It really clicked for me around the time I went on The Voice,” she shared. “No one thinks exactly the way I do, and I don’t think like anyone else either. That’s where my uniqueness comes from—that’s how I’m going to stand out.”
Known to fans as “The Therapist,” Libianca uses her platform to speak truths others shy away from, creating a safe space for listeners to confront their own struggles. Her breakout single, “People,” doesn’t just resonate—it heals. It amassed over 700 million streams worldwide, becoming a mirror for listeners facing depression, self-doubt, and trauma—issues rarely touched in mainstream music.
Libianca has always poured her heart and soul into her music, and her debut EP, Walk Away, left no part of her life untouched. With raw lyrics and unapologetic honesty, she invites listeners into her world. Tracks like “angeldemon“ ask, “But what is love if I cuddle with a demon in my bed?” while “W.O.M.S.“ (Weight On My Shoulder) questions, “But you want the level of God in my life.” Each line is a window into her resilience, her struggles, and her search for meaning.
Reflecting on her approach, Libianca shared, “I’ve always taken pride in that. I think my shameless vulnerability plays a huge part in my success too, because the more vulnerable you are, the more people can relate to you.” It’s this fearless honesty that’s made her music so much more than just songs—they’re lifelines, connecting her to fans in a way few artists dare.
And her fans feel it. Whether it’s a sister struggling with her own battles or a friend facing self-doubt, they hear Libianca and find comfort. Her lyrics don’t just tell a story; they invite listeners to see pieces of their own journey, to feel understood, and to find solace in the experiences they may have been afraid to voice.
This openness has earned her acclaim as the first Cameroonian artist to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Her song “People” has inspired over 3 million TikTok videos and won her a BET Award for Best New International Act, along with multiple nominations.
As her latest EP release draws closer, Libianca is more determined than ever to follow her own path. “I don’t want to live up to anyone’s expectations except for God,” she said. “He’s brought me through everything for a reason, and I don’t think I should hide any part of myself in my music. I just create what the f*** I create.”
Libianca is just getting started, but she’s already building a legacy that dares others to embrace their full selves—unapologetically. With each release, she shows us that music can be a force of truth and healing, her revolution that’s only beginning.
As you embark on this new chapter, can you share some core themes that we’re going to hear within your last EP? How do these themes reflect your personal experiences, and how do you hope your audience relates to it?
For every project, especially when I’m taking my time, I write down what I’m going for and I make sure that the music matches it. One big thing that you’re going to feel is that I just don’t give a F*** anymore. And sometimes that’s okay. It’s good to just do what you want to do because it’s easy, especially when people don’t know you and regardless of obscurity and of people who don’t think you’re worthy.
I want to inspire every creative out there who is where I used to be, who is working so damn hard to get somewhere, and who are actually trying to make a living off of their gifts…. Nothing is worth forgetting who you are. Nothing is worth picking up a whole other personality or character that the industry is trying to force on you. You have to just continue to be yourself. As long as you stay true to yourself and keep your confidence within yourself you are going to be okay.
You mentioned that you’re not living up to anyone’s expectations but your own. For someone who’s just discovering your music, what advice would you give them to build the confidence to reach a place where they can do or say whatever they want without second-guessing themselves?
First, block out the noise that’s pouring kerosene on your confidence. For me, one of the biggest things is social media. If I scroll for too long, I start talking like some of the people I see on there. It can influence me more than I realize. If you gave me a phone and told me to scroll for seven days straight, I’d notice changes in my thoughts after just one week. So, it’s really important to tune out the noise that’s killing your faith in yourself and fueling your fear. Whatever that noise is, you have to block it out. Listen to your own heart.
Isolate yourself. Sit down, reflect, and really think about where you want to go. Journal, meditate, take time to focus. If you’re not thinking about your goals, you won’t know where to begin. Start small because everything takes baby steps. You can’t move forward without understanding where you’re headed. Ask yourself, ‘What makes my heart happy? Where does my heart truly reside?’ Once you figure that out, you can start making decisions about what to do next.
The next hurdle you’ll face after finding your direction is the courage to share it with the world. You’ll have to be bold and say, ‘Hey, this is different as hell, and it’s amazing.’ But, know this: people are going to have opinions. Not everyone’s going to love what you put out, and that’s okay. But you can’t start by seeking validation from others. There are people online who are just waiting to tear someone down because they didn’t have the guts to pursue their own dreams. So, don’t let that affect your confidence. Stay grounded and true to yourself.
In your latest project, you’re speaking on the realities of the industry. Does this reflect your experience as an African woman navigating the industry, or is it more about the general challenges all artists face?
I didn’t really separate my African and American sides. Maybe that’s because of my background, being half African, half American, but I think a lot of people go through the same struggles, even if they don’t talk about it. As for my music, I’m not worried about labels. People can call it Afrobeats, R&B, Afro R&B – whatever they want. I don’t care. The only expectation I live up to is God’s. He’s led me through everything in my life for a reason, and I’m not going to hide any part of myself in my music. I create what I create, and whatever comes from that, comes.
If people expect to hear Afrobeats throughout my project, they might be shocked because I’m being my true self. I don’t want to be confined by fear anymore. I need to be free, and that’s what this project is about. Honestly, whatever comes from it is fine, as long as I’m free to create.
When it comes to my music, I don’t limit myself. I can do anything with my voice. I’ve been influenced by so many different experiences in my life, and it’s all reflected in my music. The only genre I haven’t explored yet might be Latin or Mexican music, but everything else is fair game. I’ve been experimenting with different sounds and ideas for so long, even from my teenage years, that now I truly believe I can do anything. I could take two or three genres and merge them together, even classical music, which I grew up around.
My project is a mix of so many different things. I played some of the songs for my visual director, and he told me, ‘I don’t even know what to call it.’ And that’s the point – I mix different styles and create something new.”
Do you think your ability to cross genres and blend your voice into so many different styles is a key reason behind your success?
A huge reason why I became successful was because I paid attention to the things and skills that I needed to acquire before the success came, and then spent time growing in that. There’s a lot of people in the world that can sing better than me, that can write better than me. And so as crazy as this may sound, it’s not only just the work that I put in itself, it’s the way I treated people along the way.
It’s the way I showed my heart and how shamelessly vulnerable I was. And after going through everything that I’ve gone through, that’s been my biggest challenge, which I’ve never had before, which is being vulnerable. Can you imagine? I took time to get back on the horse and not be ashamed to like, “to show my a**”. Like I really said, “Hey y’ all, here is my bare f****** a**. Because you know what? Somebody else got that same rash, and my fans are going to feel like, yes, I’ m in this together with somebody, and know they aren’t the only ones going through this s***.
After releasing your EP Walk Away with songs like ‘angeldemon’ and ‘W.O.M.S.’, you’ve opened up conversations about mental health and trauma. What was it like to share your struggles, and where were you in your healing journey when you put that vulnerability out there?
During that time, my old label was putting a lot of pressure on me. I was going through a lot of emotional turmoil, even though my dreams were coming true. I was still struggling inside, feeling depressed, and I didn’t have the time to really sit with those emotions. But as I was recording the EP, I knew I needed to tap into something deeper. So, I intentionally went looking for triggers. I wanted to write about something real—something that wasn’t just surface level. I couldn’t just write nonsense. It had to be something that meant something to me and was vulnerable, something people could relate to.
I was reading a novel at the time, and there was one scene that really triggered a lot of memories for me, both from my own life and from things my family members had gone through. That’s where ‘angeldemon’ came from. At that moment, I was so disconnected from myself because of everything happening in real time that it actually felt easier to go back into my past and dig up old experiences that I hadn’t processed yet. I wrote about things I hadn’t written about before, about stuff I had been holding onto.
‘angeldemon’ was a very poetic piece, and I’m really proud of it. In a way, I was speaking for people I love who’ve been through some of the worst experiences, like sexual violence. Writing it wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t as difficult as it might seem because it wasn’t something recent in my life. It was me revisiting old wounds and writing from that place of healing and growth.
What would you say to the woman who is in the midst of what you’re describing in your music?
I’m going to be real with you—there’s a lot of motivational advice out there, but what I know from my own experience is that every time I was going through something, someone saved me—and that someone was Jesus Christ. I know it might sound crazy, but I’m serious. It’s not magic, but when you start to get to know Him, things begin to unfold in ways you can’t explain. Life’s meant to be peaceful, but when you try to carry everything on your own, it gets overwhelming.
People always say, ‘Just get up and leave,’ but when you’re in that situation, you don’t realize how hard it really is. You leave when you’re at your breaking point, when your soul and your body are telling you, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’ So don’t feel guilty for staying—it’s okay to hold on to things until you’re ready. When you are, you’ll go, and you’ll know it.
The first step is to find peace for yourself—buy a Bible or a devotional book and start cleansing your soul and spirit. I’ve seen my mom have an unexplainable peace, even when everything around her was falling apart. It didn’t make sense to me at first, but she told me, ‘I’ve given it to God. I’ll carry what I can, but the rest, I can’t do it alone.’
I’ve learned a lot from her. I’ve been through it myself, and I’d go through it with someone else, day by day, helping them see that even when it doesn’t make sense at first, it will later. If you keep going, it will all come together. And, yeah, in real-time, I don’t always know how I’d react—there’s a lot of anger in me—but that’s the reality. You just have to take it one day at a time.
What are you hopeful for in this next phase, you know, like not only within your music but also, you know, within your personal journey?
Moving forward, I’m hoping to regain the freedom I had before stepping into the industry. I’m determined to reclaim that sense of freedom I had when I was more unaware, more innocent. I’ve seen and learned a lot, and while knowledge is important, sometimes it takes away the freedom that ignorance brought.
Before, there was a kind of freedom in my spirit and my mind—just being myself without overthinking it. Even how I posted on social media was carefree; I wasn’t worried about engagement or anything else, I was just being me. And that’s what I’m determined to get back to.
That’s the main thing for me—finding that part of myself again. I just want to be free. That’s it.
