Suli Breaks

Darryll Suliaman Amoako (born 22 January 1988), better known by his stage name Suli Breaks, is an English spoken word poet. He is best known for his spoken word videos on his YouTube channel, Suli Breaks. He is best known for his 2012 video "Why I Hate School but Love Education"[1] and his 2013 video "I Will Not Let an Exam Result Decide My Fate".[2]

Suli Breaks
Birth nameDarryll Suliaman Amoako
Born (1988-01-22) 22 January 1988
Wood Green, Haringey, London, England
OriginLondon, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Spoken word poet
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2009–present
Associated actsMuslim Belal
Websitesulibreaks.com

Early life

Amoako was born in Wood Green, London, England. He grew up as one of three children to Ghanaian parents in what he describes as "a conventional African family, where education is paramount". He has two sisters, Anisah (younger) and Cherelle (older).[3][4]

He went to Enfield Grammar School for a year before accepting a scholarship to play basketball in Middlesbrough. In 2009, he graduated with a degree in Law from the University of Sheffield.[3]

Career

Amoako's basketball coach's brother, Ben Peters, came up with the name "Suli Breaks", which derived from his forename of Suliaman and the concept of "breaking someone's ankles".[5]

Amoako has been writing poetry most of his life but first performed it on stage in 2008.[4] He first started spoken word poetry when he was at his last year of university. Even in his last year he found he was not engaged in what he was studying and was distant from it. He found the spoken word is what he enjoyed doing so decided to pursue that.[6][7] He has been featured in The Voice, was winner of Aspire Talent 2008 and was also a finalist in the 2009 Uni's Got Talent Competition.[5] He was awarded second place in the Mastermind Talks.[8] Breaks featured on the track "Glass" on Kasabian's 2014 album 48:13.[9][10][11][12]

In July 2014, Amoako spoke on Tedx event at the House of Parliament.[8][13] In February 2015, Amoako partnered with The National Citizen Service (NCS) to encourage the nation's teens to '#SayYes' or "Say, 'Yes!' to NCS", a digital campaign targeting 15- to 17-year-olds across England and Northern Ireland reflects on the importance of embracing the opportunities life has to offer.[14] He also appeared on a campaign video for David Lammy to become Mayor of London.[15] In early 2015, with a £20,000 budget, he created a round the world in 80 days vlogumentary.[8]

Amoako's YouTube channel has over 8.9 million views and over 320,000 subscribers.[8]

In September and November 2014, Amoako featured in two episodes of comedy web series Corner Shop Show.

In 2017, Suli Breaks was featured on African Rapper Sarkodie's "Highest" Album on the track called Silence.

On 16 July 2020, Suli Breaks appeared on the second Faithless dance single of 2020, "This Feeling". Suli appears with singer/songwriter Nathan Ball.[16]

Personal life

Amoako is a Muslim and is married.[5] He has said he looks to numerous of sources of inspiration. He admires; Steve Jobs for innovation, Michael Jordan for his hard work and intensity, and Nelson Mandela and Malcolm X as figures committed to their beliefs.[15]

See also

References
  1. Kolawole, Emi (12 December 2012). "Don't hate the education, hate the status quo". The Washington Post. Washington. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  2. "Suli Breaks, Spoken Word Poet,' 'I Will Not Let An Exam Result Decide My Fate' Goes Viral (VIDEO)". HuffPost. 24 April 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  3. Philby, Charlotte (23 May 2013). "Suli Breaks: The secret of success? Forget exams – it's all about getting the Breaks". The Independent. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  4. Wikina, Ebenezar (24 April 2015). "Suli Breaks the School Myth: My Stroll With Suli Breaks". HuffPost. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  5. Ajilore, Joseph (12 August 2009). "Suli Breaks the young poet". Your Hidden Potential. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  6. Sheriff, Lucy (24 April 2013). "Suli Breaks, Spoken Word Poet, On Success Of 'Why I Hate School But Love Education' (VIDEO)". HuffPost. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  7. Kalas, Steven (7 December 2013). "Suli Breaks' disdain for education saddening". Review journal. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  8. "Interview with Suli Breaks – Spoken Word Poet". Writer's Edit. February 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  9. Davidson, Amy (7 June 2014). "Kasabian interview: "We've never given a f**k and we're real"". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  10. Hann, Michael (5 June 2014). "Kasabian: 48:13 review – entertaining rockers unconcerned with cool". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  11. Horton, Matthew (27 May 2014). "Kasabian: NME's First Impressions Of New Album '48:13'". NME. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  12. Beaumont, Mark (10 June 2014). "Kasabian – '48:13'". NME. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  13. "Follow the leader – Suli Breaks – TEDxHousesofParliament". TEDx Talks. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  14. West, Gillian (17 February 2015). "NCS brings spoken word artist Suli Breaks on board for #SayYes film". Review journal. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  15. McCarthy, Luke (31 March 2015). "Exclusive Interview with Spoken Word Artist Suli Breaks". The Idle Man. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  16. faithless.co.uk
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