Darkoo
- British hip hop
- Afrobeats
- Rapper
- singer
- songwriter
- Atlantic Records UK
- Virgin Music Nigeria
Oluwafisayo Isa (born 19 September 2001), known by her stage name Darkoo, is a British-Nigerian rapper and singer.[1] She came to prominence following the release of her single "Gangsta", featuring One Acen, which peaked at number 22 on the Official Singles Chart,[2] and peaked at number one, on the UK Afrobeats Chart of 2020.
In 2022, Darkoo was nominated for the Best Diaspora Afrobeats Artist of the year at The Headies Awards and was announced by Pandora Music Italy as one of the most streamed musicians with other artistes and record company, Marco Mengoni, Keymaker Records, Federica Carta, and Baby K the following year.[3][4]
Early life
Darkoo was born in Lagos, Nigeria, moving to the UK at the age of 7. [1] and being raised in South London.[5] She attended St Catherine's Catholic School for Girls.
Career
Darkoo began releasing music at the age of 15,[6] starting out as a drill rapper before beginning to incorporate singing into her music.[1] In late 2019 she released the single "Gangsta", featuring British rapper One Acen. The song came to prominence on TikTok[6] and entered the Official Singles Chart at number 34 in November 2019, eventually reaching a peak of 22 in January 2020.[2] She followed up this success in March 2020 with the single "Juicy" featuring Hardy Caprio, which peaked at 62 on the Official Singles Chart.[2] At the 2020 MOBO Awards, Darkoo was nominated for Best Female Act and Best Newcomer, whilst "Gangsta" was nominated for Song of the Year.[7][8]
In April 2021, Darkoo featured on a remix of "Body", originally performed by Russ Millions and Tion Wayne. The remix helped the song reach number 1 in the Official Singles Chart.[9][10]
Darkoo released her debut EP, 2 In 1, in July 2021, featuring artists such as Tion Wayne and Unknown T.[11] On 1 September 2023, following the launch of Virgin Music flagship in Nigeria, Virgin Music Nigeria, Kimani Moore announced the unit with be incharge of Darkoo and Reekado Banks distributions.[12]
Discography
Singles
As lead artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album |
---|---|---|---|---|
UK [2] | ||||
"Gas Station" (featuring Curtis J) | 2017 | — | Non-album singles | |
"Timeline" (with Mulla Stackz) | 2018 | — | ||
"Foreign" (with AdeSTP & Shadz) | 2019 | — | ||
"Juice" (with Br3nya) | — | |||
"Rover" | — | |||
"Gangsta" (with One Acen) | 22 |
| ||
"Juicy" (with Hardy Caprio) | 2020 | 62 | ||
"Kryptonite" | — | |||
"Cinderella" (featuring 4Keus) | — | |||
"Pick Up" | 2021 | — | 2 in 1 | |
"She Like" (featuring Blanco) | — | |||
"Slow Down" (featuring Tion Wayne) | — | |||
"Bad From Early" (featuring Buju & TSB) | — | Non-album singles | ||
"Always" (featuring Black Sherif) | 2022 | — | ||
"Falling" (with Smallgod & KiDi) | — | |||
"There She Goes (Jack Sparrow)" (featuring Mayorkun) | — | |||
Favorite Girl (featuring Dess Dior) | 2024 |
As featured artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK [14] | AUS [15] | NZ [16] | ||||
"Body" (Remix) (Russ Millions and Tion Wayne featuring ArrDee, E1 (3x3), Bugzy Malone, Fivio Foreign, ZT (3x3), Darkoo, and Buni | 2021 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Green With Envy and Pier Pressure |
References
- ^ a b c Rockson, Gabrielle (11 October 2020). "DARKOO TALKS ABOUT HER NIGERIAN ROOTS, FOOTBALL, MUSIC & MORE IN BRAND-NEW EPISODE OF 'PRO:DIRECT OFF PITCH'". GRM Daily. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d "DARKOO". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Swanky (24 May 2022). "The 15th Headies Award - Full Nomination List". RehabMusik. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ "Italy's Top Streaming Artists: September's pandora favorites". Vanguard Nigeria. Retrieved 6 October 2023.
- ^ Mukhtar, Amel (30 December 2020). "Rising Afroswing Star Darkoo Is Here To Change The Music Industry – And The World". Vogue. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ a b Copsey, Rob. "Darkoo talks Gangsta success and plans for a full-length project: "This is just the beginning"". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "MOBO AWARDS 2020: SEE THE FULL LIST OF NOMINEES!". MOBO Awards. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Kane, Hannah. "Two in One: Meet Darkoo". Phoenix. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Ainsley, Helen (27 April 2021). "Tion Wayne and Russ Millions top Official Trending Chart with Body following huge new remix". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
- ^ "Tion Wayne & Russ Millions' Body is first Number 1 drill single". OfficialCharts.com.
- ^ Murray, Robin (16 July 2021). "Darkoo Drops Exceptional '2 In 1' EP". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ Cooke, Chris (5 September 2023). "Virgin Music expands into Nigeria". CMU. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
- ^ "Darkoo & One Acen". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Tion Wayne | full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 17 May 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 3 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Singles for week of 15 November 2021". aria.com.au. Retrieved 30 December 2021.