Meet C Blaq; the rising star of Afro-pop

Fast-rising hip-hop artiste Charles E Itoko popularly known as C Blaq was born in the slums of Ajegunle Lagos and grew up listening to the likes of Fela, 2pac, Biggie, 50 Cent and a few more.

According to C Blaq, his most constant memories from my childhood to date revolve around his connection with music at all given times. “So it is only natural that I grew up pursuing a career of being a well-known and respected musical artiste”, he added.

His music is propelled by a fusion sound of true afropop rhythms, soft vocal tones, pop sensibilities, and influences from American rap style.

“The path to success is never an easy road and I never expected my journey to be any different. Music has been a part of my life growing up but Hip hop became my passion after listening to 50cents ‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ album,” Charles said.

C Blaq already knew from the early stage of his life that music was the career he wanted to pursue and so, he started building his networks and relationships to push himself towards his goal.

“My first breakthrough and opportunity came when my cousins and I started a record label called ‘Holla@urboi’ around 2006-2012, we were mostly known in and around Festac town. Unfortunately, after breaking through and making our presence felt in the game, we lost our Boss and my elder cousin, Emmanuel Irabor, and sadly it led to the end of a dream that was our only hope to make it out of the struggle as in 2012,” he recollected.

Barely a month after the death of Emmanuel, around February 2012, C Blaq got another call that his dad was shot and killed while on duty with the Nigeria immigration service.

These situations affected his choices and paved his path towards getting a degree and helping youths in his generation to see the light within themselves and believe that no dream is too big to achieve.

“I consequently got an admission into Delta State University where I studied Psychology and obtained a Bsc and in the same year (2012) I also started my NGO ‘Youth Care Trust’ to create awareness about the potential greatness that was in each and every one of us and what we can achieve through an aligned purpose amongst the youths in my generation,” Itoko narrated.

Over the years, the rapper has jumped on several viral materials and did some covers to maintain a presence in the game while getting prepared to put out a body of work that would detail his experiences thus far, showcasing his talents as an artiste and seal his status as one of the greatest rappers of his time.

Charles is currently based in Capetown, South Africa and getting set to premiere his debut EP in the coming months. 2022 is going to be a very special year because the world will witness the life and times of C BLAQ aka Kingblaq.