MC Caro always knew she was special, or to use her words, that she would be a public figure in future.
How did she know? Because of the reaction she got at school:
“Growing up people used to like listening to me, you know, [I was] this kind of kid where when you are doing something you are the most popular in the classroom, everybody knows when you’re in school, and when you’re not in school everybody knows.”
The young Caro loved Nigerian movies and she would hold her classmates spellbound with her blow-by-blow retelling of the dramas. She also used to get asked by her teachers to read and explain texts to her fellow pupils:
“It was kinda easier for my friends to understand from my perspective than that of the teacher, so everybody in class would be like we want Caro to explain the book to us.”
But it was only after a series of tragic events that Caro decided on a career in music.
First, her education at vocational college was derailed by the Ebola crisis.
She had to pull out of her course in secretarial science and computers. Then she got pregnant and had a terrible five months fighting for her new baby daughter’s life:
“It was the saddest thing that ever happened to me in my life. It was just me with my baby. We went from hospital to hospital, no sleep, and then we lost the battle.”
Caro decided then to move to a new community and start her life afresh. She started hanging out in studios and with friends doing music, and because she had no money, she made a smart calculation.
She realised the potential of the internet, and she also realised that her fellow Liberians are obsessed with politics.
One afternoon she recorded a 28 second freestyle in which she warns President George Weah that he better not disappoint, he better deliver on his promises to the people who voted him in.
“It went viral in seconds, Liberians from all around the world started sharing, and that’s how I got my opportunity to the industry.”
MC Caro went on to become the most successful female rapper in Liberia to date – she won best female rapper at Liberia’s MTN music awards in 2020, and in 2021 she released her debut album, King Caro.
You can hear DJ Edu’s conversation with MC Caro on This is Africa this Saturday, on BBC World Service radio and partner stations across Africa, as well as online here.