Darkoo is a British-Nigerian rapper and singer known for blending UK drill and hip-hop with Afrobeats influences, a mix that has made her one of the most distinctive voices to emerge from London’s Black British music scene in recent years.
Born Oluwafisayo Isa on 18 September 2001 in Yaba, Lagos, Darkoo moved to South London with her family at age seven. She attended St Catherine’s Catholic School for Girls and later Christ the King Sixth Form, and had initially considered a career in engineering before music took over. She began writing and releasing music at just 15, starting out as a drill rapper before gradually incorporating melodic singing into her sound.
Her breakout arrived in late 2019 with “Gangsta,” a collaboration with British rapper One Acen that went viral on TikTok and climbed to number 22 on the UK Official Singles Chart. The track was later named Afrobeat Track of the Year for 2020 by the Official Charts Company and topped the UK Afrobeats Chart that year, establishing Darkoo as a rising name to watch. She followed it with her debut EP, “2 In 1,” released in July 2021 and featuring artists including Tion Wayne and Unknown T.
Darkoo’s biggest moment yet came with “Favourite Girl,” originally released in 2024 featuring American rapper Dess Dior before a remix bringing in Nigerian star Rema turned it into a global hit, dubbed “song of the summer” by fans and press alike. The pair performed the remix live for the first time at London’s Wireless Festival to an ecstatic crowd. The song’s success carried Darkoo to the 2025 MOBO Awards, where she won both Best Female Act and Song of The Year, her first MOBO wins after several prior nominations. She has also worked with heavyweight names including Olamide, Wizkid, Hardy Caprio, Black Sherif and Asake, and has drawn public co-signs from Rema, Davido and Ayra Starr.
Now in her mid-twenties and signed to Atlantic Records UK, with music also released via Virgin Music Nigeria, Darkoo has built a global streaming audience of several million monthly listeners while continuing to bridge UK street sounds with the sound of her Nigerian roots. With a growing catalogue, a signature genre-blurring style and a rapidly expanding fanbase on both sides of the Atlantic, she remains one of the standout British-Nigerian artists reshaping what Afrobeats-adjacent music can sound like.
