Biography of Meka Su

Born somewhere in Liberia in the 1960s or 1970s, Meka Su currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, where she cultivates the music of her homeland. Singer and audiovisual creator, she carries gbéma — that Liberian genre that makes continents dance — well beyond the borders of Monrovia¹.

Meka Su grew up in a Dahn ethnic family, one of the peoples of the Liberian coast. The Dahn language, a Mande language spoken by several hundred thousand people, early on permeated her musical sensibility. Gbéma, the style that marks her work, draws its roots from a bassa dance linked to the moon². Over time, it became the generic term for Liberian afro-pop and electro-folk — a modernization of the country’s folklore, with rhythms that evoke Congolese soukouss and Sierra Leonean bubu.

Meka Su sings in the Dahn language, her folk titles carried by irregular and contagious rhythms. Her voice embodies a generation of Liberian musicians who refused the choice between tradition and modernity.

In Atlanta, she founded a YouTube channel named Mekasu Videos — an independent label where she produces and directs music videos for Liberian artists³. Among her most known titles: “Kolo”, “Belah”, “Ayisuaboo”, “Makernyan” and “Kwayombo”, all clips that blend traditional Liberian dance with contemporary aesthetics.

In Brief

Key Dates

Major Works

Legacy

Meka Su is part of that wave of Liberian artists who exported gbéma beyond Africa². Alongside figures like Fatu Gayflor, the Queen of Liberian music, Miatta Fahnbulleh, or K-Zee, she contributed to making gbéma a Liberian identity brand.

The Mekasu Videos YouTube channel, active since the 2010s, remains the most visible trace of her work — from clips with artisanal filming but a clear message: Liberian music deserves to be seen and heard³.

Sources and References