Darryll Suliaman Amoako (born 22 January 1988), better known by his stage name Suli Breaks, is an English

spoken word Spoken word refers to an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a late 20th century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of ...

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" and his 2013 video " I Will Not Let an Exam Result Decide My Fate".

Early life

Amoako was born in

Wood Green Wood Green is a suburban district in the borough of Haringey in London, England. Its postal district is N22, with parts in N8 or N15. The London Plan identifies it as one of the metropolitan centres in Greater London, and today it forms a maj ...

, London, England. He grew up as one of three children to

Ghanaian Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

parents in what he describes as "a conventional African family, where education is paramount". He has two sisters, Anisah (younger) and Cherelle (older). He went to

Enfield Grammar School Enfield Grammar School (abbreviated to EGS; also known as Enfield Grammar) is a boys' Comprehensive school and sixth form with academy status, founded in 1558, situated in Enfield Town in the London Borough of Enfield in North London. Histo ...

for a year before accepting a scholarship to play basketball in

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

. In 2009, he graduated with a degree in

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

from the

University of Sheffield , mottoeng = To discover the causes of things , established = – University of SheffieldPredecessor institutions: – Sheffield Medical School – Firth College – Sheffield Technical School – University College of Sheffield , type = Pu ...

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". Amoako has been writing poetry most of his life but first performed it on stage in 2008. 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. He has been featured in ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'', was winner of Aspire Talent 2008 and was also a finalist in the 2009 Uni's Got Talent Competition. He was awarded second place in the Mastermind Talks. Breaks featured on the track "Glass" on

Kasabian Kasabian ( ) are an English rock band formed in Leicester in 1997 by lead vocalist Tom Meighan, guitarist and occasional vocalist Sergio Pizzorno, guitarist Chris Karloff, and bassist Chris Edwards. Drummer Ian Matthews joined in 2004. Karlof ...

's 2014 album '' 48:13''. In July 2014, Amoako spoke on

Tedx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

event at the House of Parliament. In February 2015, Amoako partnered with The

National Citizen Service The National Citizen Service (NCS) is a voluntary personal and social development programmer for 15–17 year olds in England and Northern Ireland, funded largely by money from the UK Government. It was formally announced in 2010 by Prime Minister ...

(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. He also appeared on a

campaign Campaign or The Campaign may refer to: Types of campaigns * Campaign, in agriculture, the period during which sugar beets are harvested and processed *Advertising campaign, a series of advertisement messages that share a single idea and theme * Bl ...

video for

David Lammy David Lindon Lammy (born 19 July 1972) is an English politician serving as Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021. A member of the Labour Party, he has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Tottenh ...

to become

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

. In early 2015, with a £20,000 budget, he created a round the world in 80 days vlogumentary. Amoako's YouTube channel has over 8.9 million views and over 320,000 subscribers. In September and November 2014, Amoako featured in two episodes of comedy web series ''

Corner Shop Show ''Corner Shop Show'' is a British comedy drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a gen ...

''. 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 Faithless are an English band that formed in 1995, with its core members being Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. Their first album, '' Reverence'', was released in 1996 and their most recent, ''All Blessed'', in 2020. They have sold millions ...

dance single of 2020, "This Feeling". Suli appears with singer/songwriter Nathan Ball.faithless.co.uk
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Personal life

Amoako is a

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

and is married. He has said he looks to numerous of sources of inspiration. He admires;

Steve Jobs Steven Paul Jobs (February 24, 1955 – October 5, 2011) was an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, media proprietor, and investor. He was the co-founder, chairman, and CEO of Apple; the chairman and majority shareholder of Pixar; a ...

for innovation,

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player. His biography on the official NBA website states: "By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the g ...

for his hard work and intensity, and

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

and

Malcolm X Malcolm X (born Malcolm Little, later Malik el-Shabazz; May 19, 1925 – February 21, 1965) was an American Muslim minister and human rights activist who was a prominent figure during the civil rights movement. A spokesman for the Nation of Is ...

as figures committed to their beliefs.

References

External links

* * *
Suli Breaks' channel
on YouTube * * * *Wikina, Ebenezar

''

The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...

''. 24 April 2015 *Ajilore, Joseph
Suli Breaks the young poet
''Your Hidden Potential''. 12 August 2009 *Trevor
Fun English: “Why I Hate School But Love Education”—Youtube
''RealLife English''. 13 September 2013 *McCarthy, Luke
Exclusive Interview with Spoken Word Artist Suli Breaks
''The Idle Man''. 31 March 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Breaks, Suli 1988 births Living people English Muslims English people of Ghanaian descent English spoken word artists Muslim poets British hip hop singers Black British male rappers Rappers from London People from Wood Green People educated at Enfield Grammar School Alumni of the University of Sheffield

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links