In honor of Black History Month, Atwood Magazine has invited artists to participate in a series of essays reflecting on identity, music, culture, inclusion, and more.
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Today, Manchester rapper OneDa shares her poem, ‘THE IMPOSTER,’ about the battle of being Black and British, how she navigates life as a British woman with an unearthed Nigerian heritage, as a part of Atwood Magazine’s Black History Month series!
An artist who refuses to be boxed in, OneDa’s music speaks for itself. Always beginning with her own intrepid demeanour and dexterous wordplay, her tracks incorporate elements from the hip-hop and drum and bass scenes of her home city of Manchester before adding an eclectic mix of afro-trap and tinges of afrobeats that lean into her Nigerian heritage. OneDa’s expertise transcends mere lyrical skill; it involves effortlessly merging her chicaning poetic verses with the ever-changing rhythm of shifting beats. Her boundless linguistic talent distinguishes her as a unique force of nature and a master craftswoman. Named by ‘The Face’ as one of the key MCs at the forefront of the eh renaissance, OneDa is a multihyphenate who has long focused on empowering others. She is now speeding off the starting grid on her own with her self-produced debut album, ‘Formula OneDa’, released in 2024 via Heavenly Recordings.
Growing up inspired by fiery American rappers such as Eve, Nas, Missy Elliott and Lauryn Hill, her signature Mancunian drawl inflected with Pidgin English results in something that is quintessentially OneDa. Raised in Hulme in a churchgoing, strictly religious Nigerian household, her heritage is a strong feature of her sound, with a mission to put aspects of her true self in her music. With a musical background that started with learning to read music at age six, moving to Gorton age seven and performing in gospel group ‘In Depth,’ OneDa found her way in Manchester’s hip-hop scene. For years, she toured as lead rapper with The Mouse Outfit then more recently found herself drawn into the city’s thriving drum and bass scene that has produced the likes of Zed Bias and Trigger. Her signature #MannyOnTheRise tagline is a regular feature in her work and social platforms. “Manchester’s my birthplace, it’s the place where I fell in love with music,” she says. “I see Manchester as still a part of myself, even though I am a Nigerian woman, but this has been my home forever. I see myself on the rise, so Manchester comes with it.”
THE IMPOSTER
OneDa © Debbie Ellis
by OneDa
The Battle of being Black and British, how I navigate my life as a British woman with an unearthed Nigerian heritage.
* * *
British girl from an African home
African Girl with a British undertone
2 sides of the same coin with different meanings
Sometimes this be my home
Times I feel like leaving,
Even
I can’t tell between the 2
My point of view dependent on my point of view.
Look out to my Family I’m a Nijai girl, Igbo
Tribe Proud as A people Oh
Make sure you study well well cus they don’t see you as equal Oh
And then I look out to the place that birthed my Body,
Gave me my voice, my accent, I’m Manny
Up north, Where we mix Bud with Baccy!
Rainy most the year, but in the 2 weeks of summer we’re happy.
It’s like Africa has my soul and Britain has my body.
But there’s no body without soul
And of course there no body without Soul,
I eat Pounded yam on a Monday,
I don’t chew I just swallow the yam Whole.
No knifes and Forks accompany my plate and bowl
Hands fingers getting involved.
Soul food
To most brits unknown food
Kinda food in Primary School you’d keep on the low,
embarrassed of the questions that followed food
Feeling like the imposter Black face with a British accent I borrow
True
Look in the mirror I’m conflicted,
Afro hair stays lifted.
Melanated and Gifted
Cultural Constricts
Keeps me Constricted
Conduct Concluded Misfit
Why’s this?
IMPOSTER
They Say a Black man has a Certain
Poister
A Black women has a certain attitude
British Girl don’t pronounce her T’s
But Drinks Tea, When she eats her Tea
still confuses me.
Accepting I am similar to both
Consuming their cultural misconceptions
With lead me to choke
Half a Pint and a bag of Smoke
Flexing my Agua under my Parker coat
Both Sides of the Coin
Unique to My Self
Self Hatred with Cost Yah
So I look out with a Smile on my Face
While I unbrace
The IMPOSTER
Source: @Thewoodmagazine
