Chiedu Oraka is seated in an airport in Austin, Texas when he connects with Wonderland. “With the biggest dose of holiday blues after performing at SXSW,” he says. “I’ve just supported my favourite UK artist in Texas and that was my first ever international show. I’m flying high right now and I don’t want to come down. But seriously, I’m so grateful and feel this year is only going to get better.” And we couldn’t agree more.
As one of the UK’s preeminent rising voices in rap grounds, Oraka has been at the epicentre of Yorkshire’s grime scene with his unflinching portrayal of the Black, working-class experience in a predominantly white, economically deprived area of the north. And his newest offering, a 12-track long debut mixtape “Misfit”, might be where his powerful voice and layered musicality reach their peak — all whilst reaffirming his feet are firmly planted on the ground as an artist that refuses to bend to London-centric expectations. Here, we caught up with Oraka to discuss the new project, navigating the industry while feeling like an “outsider”, and what’s next for him. Keep reading…
Listen to “Misfit”…
How did you fall in love with music? Talk to us about who inspired you growing up.
My love for music started from a very young age. My mum used to throw a lot of house parties when I was whipper snapper and these parties used to go on until the early hours of the morning. Music was always playing in my house. There was always a soundtrack to everything. If we were getting ready to go to church, music would be playing. If mum was cleaning the house, music would be playing. The sounds of Billy Ocean, Lionel Richie, Bob Marley, Chaka Demus and Pliers and the Goat “Fela Kuti” would be making the paper thin walls in my house shake. My big sister gave me my first album which was a battered Tupac Shakur CD, All Eyes on Me which she nicked from my aunty Edith. The rest was history and I was fully locked into the sound of rap music.
Can you share with us the journey behind your debut EP, “Misfit”, and how it reflects your experiences growing up in Hull and navigating the rap scene?
How does one navigate through the UK Black music industry when you feel that your sound is too Yorkshire for the London mainstream of acceptance? Even at home, the place where I am supposed to feel the safest to create, I am alienated for not doing what is considered the norm, such as having a conventional job. Even at home I am ostracised for not wanting to conform. I’m too white for the Black kids and I’m too Black for the white kids. Crazy. Not every Black guy is a Top Boy character, some of us are chavs, some of us are emos, some of us are so far from that basic narrative that gets portrayed.
“Misfit” is a significant body of work because it represents my life as an often outsider but will also help celebrate the differences that make people unique. This project intends to highlight the under representation of northern black artists in the mainstream music industry. I hope this mixtape advocates for and represents Black creators who do not fit into the conventional mould.
Your music delves into themes of masculinity, mental health and cultural identity. How do these personal experiences inform your songwriting process?
All of these themes and topics are the epicentre of my writing process. My personal experiences are the sole reason why I am able to create my art in its finest from. I’m just a normal Black boy off a council estate in East Yorkshire. So the stories that I tell have to resonate with me first or I would just be a stereotypical rapper, writing bars just for the sake of it. I see writing songs as personal memoirs, so being an open book helps the listeners understand the place where I’m coming from. Songwriting becomes very easy when you’re just being yourself. There are no hiding places when it comes to my writing, all the topics mentioned above are a big reason I am the man I am today, so why not talk about it.
Could you elaborate on the identity of your sound? How would you describe it to someone listening to you for the first time?
I sometimes feel artists can get too bogged down about answering questions like this. For me its simple, my sound doesn’t really have an identity. It was birthed in Hull, East Yorkshire, a place where no one really rapped, so there was never an infrastructure put in place for someone like me.
If you’re listening to my music for the first time, just be prepared to be taken on a journey, as if on the back of a stagecoach bus. Everything you hear is a descriptive tale of the sights, smells and all of the different interactions that happen on the number 5 bus route to Orchard Park. Enjoy, I’m jealous you’re hearing it for the first time.
Your latest single, “Counselling”, is particularly poignant. What inspired you to share this intimate aspect of your life through your music?
I just know the huge impact a track like this can have on my community. This song wasn’t about the numbers, it was about letting people know that even someone like me has had tough times, and I went and sought help. This track is about saying to young men that it’s ok to not feel yourself sometimes and if it’s a regular occurrence, please don’t suffer alone, please don’t feel ashamed, go see an expert.
Even if you’re not struggling I am a strong believer that everyone needs a safe space to talk to someone who is not a family member or a friend. I was struggling a bit during lockdown and I made the leap of faith to receive counselling; it was one of the best things I have ever done in my life. I’m from a place where you don’t talk about your feelings so if I can make at least once person break that stigma, then that would mean a lot more than getting a million streams or views.
You’ve supported artists like CASISDEAD and Skepta, and now have your own EP coming out. How have you seen your career trajectory take form and what are your hopes for the future?
Jheeeeze, I cannot lie, the last year or so has been nothing but sensational, the progression has been real and I have to give all glory to God. I still can’t believe my first international show was supporting Skepta at SXSW, it doesn’t even make sense haha. What the hell is a rapper from Hull even doing at SXSW, never mind playing four shows out there. The fan base is growing, the shows have gotten bigger and better. Right now I feel really good and I can’t wait for everyone to hear the mixtape, I definitely think it’s my best offering to date. As for the future, I want to tour the mixtape (UK and internationally), work with loads of new artists and producers, restart my Council Estate Confidence Podcast and even venture into TV.
“Own Kind”, your collaboration with Manga Saint Hilare, is eagerly anticipated. Can you give us some insight into the creative process behind this collaboration and what it means to you?
I first worked with Manga in 2015 on a track called 01482, but I was rubbish back then so this second collab was well overdue. I’ve grown so much as an artist in that time and so has he, so I think it was only right that we worked together again on “Own Kind”. I find Manga’s journey so inspiring. I feel like I can definitely relate to some of the things he has been through in life and in music. This track means so much because feeling like an outsider can be so damaging if you don’t navigate that feeling into a strength rather than a hindrance. I do feel like I am little bit slept on in the industry because of my style of art and I do feel if I rapped on more negative subjects then my name would be mentioned more. This song is about highlighting the identity issues within Black music and the pressures artists may feel about conforming into something they are not, just to be more successful. I have now learnt to go where the love is, and if you aren’t rocking with me then that’s fine. We will just have to see who is here in another ten years.
What other aspirations do you have for your career? Can you share any other exciting projects you’re working on?
To release a debut album, set up an alternative provision in music or in sport for kids who have been removed from mainstream education, to be on Traitors, to get into television in some form, to present documentaries and then have some kids. That’s enough for now.