TRUE STORY
Real Mane’s Biography
TMP Empire is an Edutainment Company Founded in Kakuma Refugee camp Kenya in 2010 by Former WarChild & refugees who are now based in Boston, U.S.A.m min
It was birthed from a film makers group that we used to call Y.A.F.M (Young African Filmmakers), but later the group became too big and unmanageable. We also discovered that we didn’t have only filmmakers, but many with different talents from different countries like Congo, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda and Eritrea. When we discovered so many talents, we changed the grou77p’s name from Y.A.F.M to Young Africans For A Better Generation- Y.A.F.B.G, now TMP EMPIRE.
The main reason for the formation of the group is an important one. In the refugee camp there’s not much to do, or to keep its residents, mostly children or young adults occupied. Most kids start influencing each other with bad behaviors and bad company then end up doing drugs. Being in need of money, and not having any jobs, they become thieves or criminals. Most of them sometimes end up being locked up in Kenyan prisons no matter their age or gender.Several of them are former child soldiers who were not nurtured by family but uncaring rebel army fighters.
“ We are a Young Multinational Edutainment Company of the diaspora based in Boston, U.S.A. fighting for a better generation. We fight agaisnt discrimination by using the power of our talents as the key to success and to build a new nation of Love, Peace, and family. Our goal is to use the power of music by telling our life story to inspire, entertain and educate.
Real Mane’s Biography
Real Mane is a former Child soldier and founder of TMP Empire Inc. Born in Democratic Republic of the Congo in the early 1990s, in the middle of a raging civil war. Kidnapped from his loving family at the age of 9 and forced into the life of a child soldier, Real Mane was surrounded by unspeakable atrocities. His early childhood journey took him across the DRC, and through a combination of sheer luck and perseverance, he was miraculously reunited with his parents after several years of captivity and violence.
The ravages of war continued to impact Real Mane’s life. As a young teenager, he narrowly escaped another rebel invasion, only having enough time to grab one of his younger siblings and run…and run. Becoming homeless on the streets of Nairobi, Kenya the young brothers found their way to Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, where they spent six long and lonely years on their own.
Life began to shine in this unlikely place. The brothers discovered filmmaking and the arts; performing music and dance for thousands held in limbo in the massive city-like refugee camp. The hope and promise they felt for their futures kept him alive during these years, and the arts kept him occupied with constructive activities. Recognizing the positive influence his brother and he were having on other young refugees, they formed the YAFBG (Young Africans
for a Better Generation). The group continues today.
In September 2013, their patience had paid off. They were airlifted out of the refugee camp and resettled to Boston. Vowing never to forget those left behind in the refugee camp, they opened TMP (The Manembos Pro) which is an native Congolese word for “Family” Empire Edutainment Company, where each member contributes his own individual story of struggle and success. To share their experiences, the group gives motivational speeches and performs upbeat African-infused music for schools, universities, youth groups,Clubs, Festivals and the general public. Any proceeds are sent to YAFBG to support the arts activities of the children still within the Kakuma Refugee Camp and they also keep some to grow their business domestically as well as in East Africa where they are based.
