diff --git a/src/mapper.c b/src/mapper.c
index 1eecbf283..b167479dd 100644
--- a/src/mapper.c
+++ b/src/mapper.c
@@ -205,6 +205,9 @@ map_fs_to_utf8(const char *path_fs)
 		/* not within musicDir */
 		return NULL;
 
+	while (path_fs[0] == G_DIR_SEPARATOR)
+		++path_fs;
+
 	return fs_charset_to_utf8(path_fs);
 }