Beggar by Day Raps in Clubs by Night
craft or viewed as punishment for MONROVIA, Liberia — Emmanusome wrongdoing. el Dongo, who spends his days begMr. Dongo’s pursuit of a musical ging on Monrovia’s streets, plunged career despite his many difficulties with his crutches onto the concrete is made possible by the proliferation stage and into the glare of neon. He of makeshift studios, self- taught thrust his muscular shoulders forengineers and a distinct Liberian ward, limp legs hanging behind him, sound. Aspiring artists can record and transformed himself into Lyrical for $20 if the engineer likes them. D, rising rap artist. Onstage at Code 146, Mr. Dongo
“Handicap man trying to survive, swung back into his wheelchair and then you sitting there just to criticize, began to twist, turn and thump the when that you, what thing you will chair’s front tire up and down. His really do?” he asked a rapt crowd at listeners shook their bodies and Code 146, where Liberia’s aspiring raised their arms. rap stars come to make their names. Code 146 is owned and run by Jon“Will you close your mouth and turn athan Koffa, widely considered a pioyour back on you? I feel too bad when neer of HipCo, Liberia’s articulation I sitting in this wheelchair, just want of rap that uses the nation’s unique to be walking like you, man. See me patois. passing and you mocking at me tellAlhaji Yaits, 22, discovered Mr. ing me I not even look like human Dongo, 27, three years ago and has being.” been helping him produce an album
Even thoughfree.disabledvictimsof war are a common sight on Liberia’s Mr. Yaits, like Mr. Dongo, was incity streets, handicapped people are spired by Takun J and HipCo music, often seen as cursed, their withered born in Monrovia after Liberia’s civor missing limbs caused by witch- il war, which ended in 2003. HipCo criticizes politicians and the Liberian elite, whom rappers accuse of plundering the country’s wealth and ignoring the poor.
Mr. Dongo’s act was ridiculed at street jams, but welcomed at Code 146.
Born in a rural area, polio left Mr. Dongo with two withered legs. He lived in a grim government-run home for disabled people for over a decade before moving out on his own to pursue his dream.
By day, Mr. Dongo sits on busy traffic islands and begs outside the shiny supermarkets that serve Liberia’s expatriates and elite. He uses most of the money to support his 2-year- old son, who lives with Mr. Dongo’s mother.
Just getting around Monrovia is tough for the disabled. Footpaths are rare, and when they exist, they are often a series of disjointed concrete panels that jut out like jagged teeth. Manholes are often stolen for scrap metal, leaving open holes in the middle of roads.
“I know that sitting on the street begging I belittle myself,” Mr. Dongo said. “But when I perform onstage, I feel good because I know that my dream is working and people go wild for me.”
Days later, Mr. Dongo was out on the street filming a video for his song “Show Love.” A friend played the song through a cell phone plugged into a boom box.
He was accompanied by backup dancers, twirling in wheelchairs. Mr. Dongo furrowed his brow and performed small stunts with his chair.
“I can remember when I used to go on show, people used to laugh,” he sang. “But I keep pushing, no fun, keep pushing, no fun, keep pushing, I not give up.”