A RAPPER is aiming to reverse negative perceptions about Hull with a new music video released to celebrate everything good about the city.
Chiedu Oraka's YouTube video I'm From A City has had more than 2,000 views in a week.
He says the rap is a celebration of everything good in Hull and wants people to capitalise on what the city has to offer, particularly ahead of Hull becoming the UK City of Culture 2017.
Mr Oraka, 27, said: "I want to inspire people through my music. Through this latest video I want to make people know about a city like Hull.
"It gets overshadowed by bad perceptions. And as a city we also tend to put ourselves down as we are so used to being put down.
"I want to go against the grain.
"I actually recorded the song at the beginning of last year but thought it was a great time to release it now, at the beginning of a new year and make people of Hull feel good about themselves."
The video shows Mr Oraka rapping against a backdrop of locations in the city, including the KC Stadium, Trinity Market, the Humber Bridge and the marina.
Also featured are local characters including TV host Peter Levy, land-train operator Mally Welburn, Humber Sesh organiser Mark Page and boxer Tommy Coyle.Mr Oraka, of 21st Avenue, north Hull, says he hopes his song will show the city in a positive light.
He said: "The first two verses could be seen as quite negative, but I hope they won't be taken like that.
"What I am saying is I am from a city where these things do happen.
"I'm being realistic. It's a documentation of people's perceptions and people's mentality in Hull. The last verse is a celebration where I talk about all the good things Hull has to offer and what we as a city have achieved. Hull has something.
"It did not win the UK City of Culture for no reason. We have to use that as a tool and move forward and get away from all the negative things. We want to achieve what Liverpool achieved when it was City of Culture.
"The feedback I have had from the video is phenomenal and I want people to see it and see what Hull is like."
Mr Oraka, who is a PE teacher for youngsters who have been excluded from school, was born and bred in the city.
He was a pupil at Endsleigh Primary School before moving on to St Mary's College, in Cranbrook Avenue, north Hull, and the University of Lincoln, where he studied sports development and coaching.
He now wants to take his music to the next level.
He began recording rap in 2010 in a friend's bedroom.
He said: "I brought out a CD, which I basically recorded in my mate's bedroom.
"It was really budget, with just a mic and computer."
He distributed 250 CDs across the city on nights out and in the street, selling his debut album for £3 each.
From there, he was introduced to someone at The Warren Project who was interested in working with him.
His second album, Workrate, was released in 2013 as a free download.
He said: "Off the back of that I started doing Workrate clothing and sold more than 300 garments. I started gigging everywhere."
He has since played at the Humber Street Sesh, Trinity Music Festival and had his songs played on Radio 1.
"I aim to be able to do this as a living, to be a household name. I want to be different," he said.
