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, his bars fill the dancefloor as capably as they serve to portray the Black, working-class experience from the frontlines of a largely white, economically deprived region of the north. Delivered in his city’s distinct accent, Oraka is a fierce representative of a new sound and an amplifier of stories yet to be told.

Oraka entered 2024 armed with his lengthiest project to date, Misfit. The 12-track mixtape released via Launchpad+ and EMI North went deeper on both the anthems and the message than ever before; exploring the complexity of Black identity and promoting a different narrative of the UK Black experience. The mixtape saw wide critical praise with reviews from NME, Clash, The Telegraph, DJ Mag (print), LOBF and Wonderland through to Radio 6’s Chris Hawkins, Huw Stephens, BBC Introducing, BBC Radio 1’s Sian Eleri, 1Xtra and Kiss FM through to mental health platform, CALM; as well as landing the NMF playlist on Spotify amongst other support. Track ‘Helly Hansen 6’ taken from the mixtape was playlisted on BBC 6Music’s C List at the start of August 2024, with Oraka also featuring on Huw Stephen’s ‘Huw Are You feature’ and being interviewed by Chris Hawkins ahead of his Glastonbury 2024 performance.

His high-octane stage presence has earned him support slots with Stormzy, Wretch 32, Akala, Casisdead and US hip-hop legend KRS One. A big moment for Chiedu in 2024 was his debut Glastonbury performance for the BBC Introducing stage; not only has he performed across the length and breadth of the UK, playing his debut UK headline tour in autumn of 23, and The Great Escape 2023 + 2024, but the Yorkshire rap pioneer has taken his sound trans-Atlantic to the dusty planes of Austin, Texas at SXSW 2024 where he supported Skepta for the British Music Embassy, played the Selector stage and headlined the Line of Best Fit stage.

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’, which garnered streams in the millions and found champions in The Guardian, Mixmag, i-D, The Quietus and TRENCH alongside BBC Radio 1, 6Music, 1Xtra and Reprezent. Oraka’s highest performing single, ‘Darcy’ sat on Spotify's Grime Shutdown for over 300 days (8th longest on playlist) with his single ‘War Chant’ also holding up for eight weeks in Music Week’s Black Music Chart, peaking at number 2.

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