Chiedu Oraka
Cutting his own unique path in UK Black music, Chiedu Oraka, aka 'The Black Yorkshireman', has long been known as a leading figure in the Northern Grime and Rap scene; defying genres with his blend of raw honesty and social poetry. Chiedu's music has been challenging perceptions of his city for some time now, and can be referred to as the sound of a new working-class Northern England, captivating audiences with his broad Hull accent and telling the untold story of what it means growing up Black on a Yorkshire council estate.
Since emerging onto the scene from his native city of Hull, Chiedu is undoubtedly one of the most exciting voices in his genre. His noted releases include, 'Flex’ and ‘Men Behaving Badly’ - with the latter recently hitting over 1.3M streams - and the hit single ‘Darcy’, which sits at over 3M streams, becoming one of the top-10 longest tracks to feature on the Grime Shutdown playlist; holding its own for over 300 days running. Needless to say, Chiedu has had countless radio spins on key platforms including BBC Radio 1 (Tiffany Calver, Jeremiah Asiamah), Kiss FM (DJ Q, Ellie Prohan), 1Xtra (Kenny Allstar), 6 Music, Radio X, Reprezent FM and Apple Music 1 (Charlie Sloth). As well as Mike Skinner spinning 'Darcy' on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show, Chiedu's work has also featured on BBC Introducing, with the tracks ‘Men Behaving Badly’ and ‘N.H.E.’ being hailed as the 1Xtra Track of the Week.
Chiedu Oraka remains one of the scene’s most dynamic live artists, having supported UK artists such as Stormzy, Jaykae, Akala, Novelist, Mostack and Poundz, as well as US hiphop legend KRS One. He’s also been a regular guest artist in the BBC ‘Contains Strong Language’ festival, representing on a national platform since 2017. Last year saw him headlining both Humber Street Sesh 2021 and his first headline show in Newcastle.
2021 marked the start of broad new horizons for Chiedu, having exploded into the year with his acclaimed EP 'Ave Life' including the autobiographical masterclass, ‘The Trials and Tribulations of C.E.O.’ and the anthemic, ‘G Finger’ (named as Charlie Sloth's Hood Heat Track of the Week). Meanwhile his formidable Helly Hansen freestyle series is grabbing attention and gaining momentum across the board. 2022 has so far seen Chiedu release ‘North Face’ a double-A side single taken from his formidable ‘Council Estate Confidence’ EP which dropped earlier this year; this made Charlie Sloth’s Hood Heat track of the week on Apple Music alongside plays across BBC 6, BBC Introducing, Radio X and KISS FM. Chiedu's 'Council Estate Confidence' EP was a testament to his lyrical ability and conscious social poetry. A podcast of the same name dropped alongside the EP, which focused on interviews with pioneers who grew up on council estates themselves; including The Paddingtons and Jeffrey Boakye.
Chiedu is the founding member of the music collective Lockdown, its other members include MC/producer Deezkid and DJ, Joe The Third. Through their independent label ROOM 73 they have released a number of hit songs including Chiedu's biggest single to date, 'Darcy'. The Lockdown collective also promote their own club night, where they have brought names such as Devilman, Manga St Hilare, Jammer & Tempa T to Hull's most historic music venue, The New Adelphi Club.
Beyond music, Chiedu has been a vocal advocate for equality and justice, using his music and platform to raise awareness of race issues, identity and political change. He lent his voice to the documentary series ‘Black Kings Upon Hull’, which showcased the Black experience outside of the big cities - later appearing on BBC Introducing East for Black History Month to discuss this. Followed later by his Council Estate Confidence podcast. Here, we see the intersection of activism and art, one of the reasons that Chiedu remains such a fierce representative of the Black British experience.
Chiedu Oraka continues to set the bar high for Northern talent; confirming his position as a premier UK lyrical artist. All eyes are now on The Black Yorkshireman to see what’s up and where’s next.