Chiedu Oraka

A leading figure in the Northern Rap and Grime scene, Chiedu Oraka, aka ‘The Black Yorkshireman’ defies genres with his blend of raw honesty and social poetry. Raised on North Hull Estate, Oraka’s lyrical abilities create an in-depth memoir of the Northern Black experience. A strong 2023 has seen Oraka sign with Marshall’s live booking agency, perform at The Great Escape 2023, headline his first Leeds show and Humber Street Sesh 2023 this summer, as well as the preparation of his first UK headline tour in October 2023.

Oraka is one of the founding members of music collective Lockdown, alongside MC/producer, Deezkid and DJ, Joe The Third. Through their independent label ROOM 73 the collective have released a number of hit songs, including ‘Men Behaving Badly’, ‘Flex’ and ‘Darcy’, with most having attracted attention from Sian Anderson and Annie Mac through to Charlie Sloth and Sir Spyro with Oraka’s highest performing single, ‘Darcy’ achieving 3 million+ streams and sitting on Spotify's Grime Shutdown for over 300 days (8th longest on playlist). Oraka’s single ‘War Chant’ also held up for eight weeks in Music Week’s Black Music Chart, peaking at number 2. Both 2021 and 2022 saw Oraka drop his acclaimed EP ‘Ave Life’ and formidable ‘Council Estate Confidence’ EP respectively - the latter included ‘North Face’ which made Charlie Sloth’s Hood Heat track of the week on Apple Music.

Chiedu Oraka remains one of the scene’s most dynamic live performers, having supported UK artists such as Stormzy, Jaykae, Akala, Novelist, Mostack and Poundz, as well as US hip hop legend KRS One.

Chiedu Oraka continues to set the bar high for Northern talent, confirming his position as a premiere UK lyrical artist.