Veeby

In 2001, Veeby (Vanessa Kanga) moved from Doula, Cameroon to Montreal to study political science and economics. But music soon beckoned. In 2016, the Quebec newspaper La Presse hailed Veeby as “one of the emerging artists of the increasingly contagious Afro-soul trend” with a sweet voice – ever fluid, energetic and flamboyant – that soars to the summits and then plunges, only to soar again, tirelessly. As tirelessly as the artist herself, who passionately advocates for diversity and inclusion through a thrilling combination of jazz, hip hop and soul with strong African overtones.

As a teenager, Veeby became interested in Cameroonian music – Manu Dibango, Henri Dikongué, and Sally Nyolo – but she also bathed in her father’s love of American soul and R&B. At the time, Whitney Houston was one of her idols. More than ever, Veeby strives to tell her own story as well as the story of her African ancestors, and to connect the two as they resonate with the powerful struggles against oppression. In particular, she reminds us of the Zandi, the Bantu community in Mesopotamia (Iraq), who had been kidnapped and later rebelled. The singer-songwriter-activist says, “We talk a lot about the Haitian community, but we forget about the Bantus, who revolted long before the transatlantic slave trade.”