From War-Torn Childhood to Spiritual Stardom: The Untold Story of Briana Nancie

In a world shaped by conflict, betrayal, and survival, few voices rise as powerfully and authentically as that of Briana Nancie. Born Nancie Divine Ngouanou in 1997 in Pointe-Noire, Republic of Congo, her life has been anything but ordinary. The daughter of Alain Serge Ngouanou, a former military leader in the notorious Cobra militia during the Congolese civil war, and Paulette, a strong woman of Luba descent from Kinshasa, Nancie’s roots run deep into the soils of both violence and resilience.

Her earliest memories are shrouded in the chaos of Brazzaville in the late 1990s. At just two years old, during the height of the civil conflict, Nancie was kidnapped amidst political violence and family disarray. While her relatives fled to Kinshasa for safety, the young child vanished into a city crumbling under war. For three agonizing years, her mother, only 19 at the time, prayed and fasted—until in 2002, driven by maternal faith and desperation, she crossed the Congo River without consent and found her daughter in a coma, suffering from severe malnutrition and still clothed in rags from 1999. Doctors had given up hope, but her mother refused to surrender. Against all odds, she carried Nancie home to Kinshasa—a living miracle pulled from the ashes of conflict.

At the age of nine, Nancie, her mother, and sister Vanessa relocated to Sweden in search of peace. But Åmål, the small Swedish town they settled in, proved to be far from welcoming. As one of the few Black girls in her school, Nancie faced racial bullying, name-calling, and the emotional isolation that comes from feeling like a foreigner in your own classroom. Her identity was questioned, her presence challenged. In her songs, she later revealed the emotional scars not just from peers, but from a deeply traumatic relationship with her stepfather—a man she describes as abusive and psychologically damaging.

“I only have forgiveness in order to be where I am today,” she says now, a statement soaked in pain but anchored in faith.

Struggling in school, Nancie eventually dropped out, only to be rescued by a kind family friend named Bengt, who supported her studies privately and became a source of emotional stability. But it was in Sydney, Australia, where she studied Music and Artist Performance at ALG University, that her voice began to rise. In an unplanned move, she uploaded a track to SoundCloud under the name Briana Nancie for a music production exam—unaware that this moment would change the trajectory of her life. "Music performance chose me," she reflects. "I just wanted to pass the exam. But something bigger was calling."

Her musical style—now known as Afro-Spirit—blends raw soul-trap with urban rhythm and spiritual vocals. Her lyrics draw directly from her lived experiences: war, racism, spiritual warfare, and survival. In 2020, during the height of the COVID pandemic, Nancie returned briefly to Sweden—and once again found herself entangled in a harrowing ordeal. She was kidnapped in a criminal scheme involving identity fraud. Forced to sign contracts and used as a pawn in a money laundering network, she endured psychological manipulation and captivity. With the help of a relative, she escaped through Denmark and fled to France—with nothing but her life.

It was there, still reeling from trauma, that she recorded “Illumination,” a soul-baring track that recounts her kidnapping, desperation, and unwavering hope. "I had to sell food online just to get the money to record Illumination," she says. "But later, I was blessed."

Her music became her testimony, especially after Swedish authorities closed her kidnapping case due to lack of evidence. Through her songs, Nancie speaks directly to those who’ve endured unspeakable pain in silence. “They tried to silence me, but God used music to protect me,” she declares.

As her fanbase grows, Briana Nancie remains committed to her spiritual journey. A devout Christian, she believes her survival is a divine assignment. “This is not just a career,” she often says, “this is a calling.”

For every beat she sings and every lyric she writes, Briana Nancie brings the truth of a past most would hide—and transforms it into light. From the depths of war-torn Brazzaville to the studios of Australia, she is a living testament that no amount of darkness can stop a voice destined to shine.