“Mark Morrison Swag” by Chiedu Oraka

With a hard-earned reputation as leading figure in the Northern Grime and Rap scene, Chiedu Oraka, or ‘The Black Yorkshireman’ as he’s known, is back with a new single. The powerful “Mark Morrison Swag” comes alongside a music video that references the iconic R&B artist Mark Morisson himself.

Chiedu describes his music as the sound of new working-class Northern England, peppering Yorkshire slang into his lyrics and always repping his Hull hometown. Building a name with tracks like “Darcy”, “Men Behaving Badly” and “Serve You A Taster” – the former picking up over 3 million streams – his latest single lands following a huge 12 months for the artist. This year has seen Chiedu drop his ‘Council Estate Confidence’ EP, alongside an accompanying podcast series of the same name, garnering widespread media and radio attention. Outside of music, the artist advocates for equality and justice, lending his voice to the documentary series ‘Black Kings Upon Hull’. His podcast series sees him interviewing pioneers from council estates; the first guest being legendary Hull band, The Paddingtons.

Chiedu’s new single is produced by Riddle – the man behind Meekz Manny’s tune, “Respect The Come Up”. It lyrically tackles themes like freedom, liberation and underlying effects of Thatcher’s impact on the North of England. The visuals are brimming with references to Mr Morrison, as Chiedu dons his notorious style – complete with fur coat, gold chains and dark shades. Discussing the track, Chiedu explains the link between his ideas, “Mark Morrison was definitely one of the most eye-catching artists of the 90s era. My guy was known for performing with a set of handcuffs. He was basically saying to the system, ‘I’m a free man now, watch me shine’. That was the inspiration behind the video. I wanted to pay homage to Mark but also promote my own message too. That there are no shackles on my feet when it comes to my creativity”.