By Ibrahim Sorious Samura

After making inroads in Europe, one of the country’s best pop star, guitarist and performer has arrived in Freetown from Paris, France on a family visit and to also build his fan base or local audience. Mos-B has been featured on major stages across Europe, performing with top European musicians on several occasions. He is one of the most sought after African musicians in Europe.

This is the first time the star is visiting the country since he last visited in 2016 where he performed for President Ernest Bai Koroma. “I feel excited to be here again. The appreciation and love from my countrymen is amazing,” he told this media. Mos-B has also established the Mos-B Entertainment Group (MEG). This group brought many of his fans together in a huge and colourful meeting last week. The fans are motivated and excited to showcase their super star to his country of origin.

Mos-B has just been featured on the front cover of The Chicago Bridge Magazine in the United States, on the magazine’s 20th anniversary. This extraordinary musician is expected to tour the United States of America next year. Booking agencies in the United States are in full anticipation to land the great live performer in the US, where he is expected to perform in up to 20 cities.

Through his MEG team, Mos-B is planning to organise a ‘Peace Concert’ in Freetown, in December 2019, where he will perform alongside top European musicians.

Joseph Amos Bangura aka Mos-B was born and raised in Madina, Tonko Limba Chiefdom, Kambia District to a family with cultural Limba music background. Notably his mother was a traditional performer who used diverse local instruments to create strings of sounds. Growing up and attending school with his family in Madina was a great blessing for him. He had the opportunity to nurture the art of music.

Mos-B explained how his music career started. “It all started when a local reggae performer visited our school in Madina and performed live with his guitar. As a kid, I was impressed with his performance, and I later asked him to teach me how to play the guitar. His response was that, ‘many are called but few are chosen.’ These were his exact words. My parents granted me the permission to start training with him in the nearby village. This became my daily routine after school until I could play the guitar.”

“The war brought us to the city of Freetown, and my family settled in the Kissy Community where I continued with my secondary education at the Ahmadiyya Muslim Secondary School. I also joined local bands and started performing for several churches in Freetown. I was a Music Director in many churches,” he said.

Mos-B was a leading performer in the nationwide Peace Tour conducted in major towns and cities across Sierra Leone, marking the end of the 11 years  civil conflict.

Mos-B studied Performing Arts at the Milton Margai College of Education and Technology  (MMCET), where he got connected to many local and international entertainers. He was picked up by an entertainment Presenter, King Milan, and later joined the Paradise Records founded by Jimmy B, another top artist and actor.

Mos-B’s major breakthrough was when he released ‘Sweet Salone’ in 1999. The song called for a united, loving and a forgiving nation which has gone through horrible years of carnage. The song was a major hit in the early 2000’s. He earned his respect and growth when he decided to prioritise ‘live performance’ in his career. Before he was invited to represent Sierra Leone at the European Music Festival in 2001, Mos-B was asked to perform for the late President Ahmad Tejan Kabba at the Bank Complex in Freetown. His awesome performance got him other calls from top government officials to perform for them at various events. Mos-B could still remember President Kabba’s farewell message to him in front of his Cabinet before he left for Europe, “You are going to be our music ambassador in Europe, good luck,” bade President Kabba. Mos-B has always lived up to that. His impressive performance has earned him so much respect, making him one of the most sought after African musicians in Europe, sharing big stages with top stars in Holland, Germany, France, and more. Mos-B graduated with a B.A in Pop Music after 5 years of study in Rotterdam, Holland.

However, Mos-B has never signed up to any music record label in Europe despite the many offers he had received, but turned all down due to the unfavourable terms and conditions in these contracts. He manages himself but works with music agencies for event bookings.

He has done three albums in Europe plus his other two albums he completed before going to Europe. Best among his songs are ‘Sweet Salone’, ‘Journey of A 1000 Mile’, ‘Feel Alright’, and Back To My Roots’, which is a traditional song.

His message to his colleagues is “It’s not just about going to the studio, but it’s also about performing live on stage, that’s what the modern music is about.”