According to the Liberian Observer, Christoph’s story is not different from other children born into poor families, and in slum communities. Like other children whose parents don’t have it, Christoph on many days had to struggle just to eat a good meal and keep going to school. Despite the hustles and bustles of his young life, Christoph managed to overcome his ugly past of struggling to survive by working hard to realize his dream of becoming a musician.
“I had a rough upbringing, but God was the one that kept me alive. Sincerely speaking, life was not easy, but music was my own source of happiness,” Christoph said.
The “Hold Your Polaruh” hit maker, who just returned from a tour of the United States about two months ago, was consistently overlooked when he first started doing music. At first many people didn’t take him serious; and some even mocked him, not knowing they would be dancing to and loving his songs in just a few years’ time. Christoph added: “The journey was rough; and at some point in time, I became frustrated and wanted to quit. But I couldn’t muster the courage to do so because I loved music.
“All I did was to take those criticisms and transform them into a success story. I worked hard to prove that they were wrong and that I was right. I used persistence to improve my craft, which at the end of the day has been proven successful.”
After the long road the rapper entered mainstream music with the single “Take a Break.” However, the song did live up to expectations as fans reacted to the song as being “too American,” which was the fans’ state of mind at the time. They wanted hipco. After he took notice of this, Christoph quickly changed his style from hip-hop to hipco, which uses Liberia’s colloquial language instead of American slang; an act that propelled him to superstardom. Songs like “Papay God,” “Heaven and Hell,” and “Gbanna Man” remix were the ones that definitely sold him to the public, and the much desired recognition.
“When I released ‘Take a Break’ and noticed that people were not responding, I realized that I was not tapping into the quest of the audience, or was not giving them what they needed to hear, “ he said, adding, “So I switched and in just a short period of time, people started loving my flow, and dancing to my music,” he said.
On his inspiration and target audience, Christoph explained that his target audience is lovers of rap music, most especially young adult; and that his inspiration always comes from fans and the theme of the song. “My inspiration comes from the fans because I need to give them what they need to hear. I am not making music for myself, but for the fans,” he explained.
Born on April 3, 1993, in a church, the award winning rap artist, whose given names are Christopher Christoph Nyenga, is a graduate of the St. Mathew Methodist High School. He is among the few Liberian rappers who are living a middleclass life and owns a car reportedly worth over US$30,000. His home is worthy of “MTV Cribs” mention, the Liberia Version though.
