Zuby | |
|---|---|
 Zuby in 2020 | |
| Born | Nzube Udezue August 19, 1986 Luton, Bedfordshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | St Edmund Hall, Oxford |
| Occupation(s) | Rapper, weightlifter, author |
| Website | zubymusic |
Nzube Udezue (born 19 August 1986), better known by his stage name Zuby, is a British rapper, weightlifter, and author.
Early life and education
editNzube Udezue was born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England on 19 August 1986.[1][2] Emmanuel and Chika are his father and mother; He is a respected doctor and fellow of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene whilst she is a journalist.[3] Aged one, he moved to live in Saudi Arabia where his parents worked for two decades;[4] His father worked as a doctor whilst his mother was a journalist.[4] In Saudi Arabia he attended an international school.[5] Aged 11, he attended a boarding school in the UK and frequently travelled between the two countries.[6][4] In 2004, for three years he studied at the St Edmund Hall, Oxford and graduated in computer science in 2007.[7][8][4][9] As a child he played the piano and the trombone, the latter he played in a band and during his tennage years developed an interest for hip-hop music.[4] In 2008 he lived in Bournemouth with his parents.[3] In 2019, The Times said he was from Southampton.[10]
Career
editIn 2006, during his first year at university, Udezue started rapping and independently released his debut album Commerical Underground under the name Zuby at age 19 selling over 3,000 copies.[11][4] After graduating, he moved to London and in August 2008 he worked there as a management consultant for Accenture whilst continuing his music career for two years.[4][3] In November 2011, he pursued his music career full-time.[4] He went to release six subsequent albums his career within the hop hop genre.[5][7] In 2019, Zuby started his own podcast entitled Real Talk with Zuby.[4][5]
After Udezue expressed his views transgender people in sports, he has been featured on many podcasts including: The Ben Shapiro Show,[12] The Joe Rogan Experience,[6] The Rubin Report,[13] The Candace Owens Show,[14] The Adam Carolla Show,[15] and The Glenn Beck Podcast.[16]
Police incident
editIt took me a couple of seconds to realise that it was me that all those guns were aimed at. I honestly felt like I'd stepped off the train and into a really bad dream. I'm shocked, confused, scared and embarrassed all at the same time. Most of the bystanders had vacated the platform by now, by police order. And I'm not talking about normal police either. This is the Specialist Firearms Unit, about eight of them, machine guns, bullet proof vests, police dogs and all. And they're here to arrest me!
Nzube Udezue, describing his encouter with the poice[17]
On 5 July 2008,[18] at 3:49 pm, a man displays an imitation firearm around an indoor shopping centre in Basingstoke; afterwards Hampshire Constabulary distribute a description of him.[19] After promoting his music and selling his CDs in Southampton,[20][18] Udezue at 5:24 pm boards a train destined to Bournemouth (30 miles away from Basingstoke) and shortly thereafter British Transport Police (BLP), after being notified by Hampshire Police,[17] believe he is a suspect possibly involved in the Basingstoke incident.[19] Throughout this time, critical failure in communicating the colour of Udezue's T-shirt occurs; initally described by the BLP as "brown", and later became described as "dark".[21] About ten officers blocked off the exits as the train approached Bournemouth railway station.[20][18][8] His train arrives at 6:09 pm, and he is arrested at gunpoint, being forced to lie prone and be handcuffed, by Dorset Police.[17][19] Zuby was briefly detained at Bournemouth police station before being released.[17] Dorset Police later apologised to him.[17] He was chosen because he was black man wearing a black t-shirt,[22][20][18][8] which matched the description of the actual supect and Udezue quipped: "And to think I was going to wear a blue T-shirt this morning".[17][7] Udezue, who at the time had no criminal record,[20][22][8] later described it as being a "really bad dream" said he has "never been so traumatised" in his life.[17]
The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) requested Dorset Police's Professional Standards Department investigate the three forces involved as opposed to the IPCC doing a full investigation themselves.[17][21] In a statement it believed the actions of Dorset Police were "appropriate and proportionate to the circumstances".[20] On 14 July, Udezue's solictor filed an official complaint to the IPCC over the incident demanding for a full and independent investigation into the incident.[21]
A few days after, his social media accounts recieved many supportive messages from the public.[20][18][8] Udezue's local Member of Parliament Tobias Ellwood of the Conservative Party stated that he backed the actions of police saying that they do a "very difficult job".[8] He went on to comment that it is important that "police don't fear stepping in for fear of reprisals if they get the wrong person".[8] The arrest was compared to the Shooting of Jean Charles de Menezes.[7][20][18][8][21] Entertainment Weekly's Simon Vozick-Levinson described the incident as "something of a cause célèbre".[22] The Guardian's Paul Lewis and Vozick-Levinson suggested it was possible racial profiling.[22][19] Udezue, who is of Nigerian heritage, thought that his race was not central to the incident, but should still be considered a part of any investigation.[21]
Views
editAfter Udezue expressed his views transgender people in sports Rosamund Urwin of The Times described him as an "unlikely feminist icon".[10] He is a Christian.[20][18]
In response to a music festival that charged white people double than other ethnicities, Zuby stated: "Well done intersectional radicals. You've become the very racists you claim to stand against."[23][24]
Transgender people
editIn March 2019, Udezue recieved worldwide attention after posting a video on Twitter of Udezue performing a deadlift of 238 kg (525 lb), and subsequently stated Udezue broke the British women's deadlift record whilst identifying as a woman.[25][10][26][27] Shortly after, Udezue did the same with the British women's bench press record.[10][25] It added to the ongoing controversial issue of transgender people in sports.[10][27] Udezue has said that he does not think that trans women should be allowed to compete in women's sport.[27] Udezue went on to say that Udezue did it to demonstrate the "fallacies of the arguments on the other side" and commented that "I have seen people saying there is no inherent biological strength difference between men and women. I posted it being a bit tongue-in-cheek, showing what I think is the obvious absurdity of their argument."[10]
In September 2020, Udezue signed a letter among many other notable figures in support J. K. Rowling's views on transgender people.[28]
References
edit- ^ Udezue, Nzube [@ZubyMusic] (29 November 2019). "I was born in Luton!" (Tweet). Archived from the original on 29 November 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2020 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Zuby". BBC Music. BBC. Archived from the original on 2 June 2020. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; 3 June 2020 suggested (help) - ^ a b c Ford, Richard; Foster, Patrick (9 July 2008). "Stop and search victim Nzube Udezue relives his gunpoint ordeal". The Times. News UK. Archived from the original on 26 January 2020. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Ben Shapiro; Nzube Udezue (15 September 2019). Zuby - The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special Ep. 68 (Podcast). United States: YouTube. Event occurs at 4:30. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
I was born in the UK, I actually moved to the Middle East I lived in Saudi Arabia I moved there when I was 1 my parents worked out there for a couple of decades my dad's a doctor and like your wife and my mum was working as journalist at the time. So we lived in Saudi Arabia and I went to school there up until fifth grade so when I was 11 I went boarding school at the age of 11. So I was back and forth between the two countries for a long time did really well in school got into Oxford university and went there to study computer science so I did that for three years. When I was in my first year I started rapping. When I was a kid I used to play piano so I did some music in the past then I also played trombona in a band for a while and then I kind of fell out of love with music and fell back into it. I was a hip-hop fan in my teen years at school I started rapping in university and discovered I had a knack for writing lyrics and performing so I released my first album Commercial Underground when I was 19 and put that out independently sold a few thousand copies and that kind of set the spark of oh this maybe something I can do something with. So I graduated moved to London I worked as a management consultant actually for a couple of years whilst juggling my music stuff on the side and then in November 2011 I took the plunge and said hey I'm gonna go pursue my music stuff full-time and I haven't starved to death yet so I'm doing something right and then other things have been added to the mix.
- ^ a b c Udezue, Nzube. "About Zuby". Zuby Music. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Rogan, Joe; Udezue, Nzube (5 September 2019). "Joe Rogan Experience #1346 - Zuby". Retrieved 3 June 2020 – via YouTube.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d Edwards, Richard (9 July 2008). "Oxford graduate Zuby held at gunpoint by police at Bournemouth station". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 26 January 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Paul (9 July 2008). "Commuter mistakenly arrested by armed police was 'shocked and scared'". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Are you down with Zuby?". Oxford Today. Vol. 23, no. 2. January–March 2011. p. 18. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f Urwin, Rosamund (3 March 2019). "Rapper Zuby identifies as female to smash weightlifting record". The Times. News UK. Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ Parkin, Simon (1 June 2012). "Preview: Norwich full gig guide June 1-7". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Shapiro, Ben; Udezue, Nzube (15 September 2019). "Zuby - The Ben Shapiro Show Sunday Special Ep. 68". Retrieved 3 June 2020 – via YouTube.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Rubin, Dave; Udezue, Nzube (22 September 2019). "Social Justice Taking A Toll on Women's Sports & US Blind Spots - Zuby - Poltics - Rubin Report". YouTube. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Owens, Candace; Udezue, Nzube (7 July 2019). "The Candace Owens Show: Zuby". PragerU. Archived from the original on 7 June 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
- ^ Carolla, Adam; Cesario, Jeff; Udezue, Nzube (2019). "Zuby and Jeff Cesario". adamcarolla.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 20 January 2020.
- ^ Beck, Glenn; Udezue, Nzube (12 October 2019). "Truth Over Politics: A British Rapper's View of America - Zuby - The Glenn Beck Podcast - Ep 54". YouTube.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h "Rapper traumatised by gun arrest". BBC News. 9 July 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g Lewis, Paul (9 July 2008). "'All hell broke loose': Oxford graduate held at gunpoint by police". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d Lewis, Paul (9 July 2008). "Nzube Udezue: less innocent than most?". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e f g h Lewis, Paul (8 July 2008). "Commuter mistakenly held at gunpoint by police". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d e Lewis, Paul (14 July 2008). "Commuter Nzube Udezue files complaint over armed arrest ordeal". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c d Vozick-Levinson, Simon (15 July 2008). "Zuby's case: A mistake or racial profiling?". Entertainment Weekly. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Noori Farzan, Antonia (8 July 2019). "A Detroit music festival charged white people double. Then the backlash started". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
- ^ "Rapper pulls out of festival charging 'non-people of colour' double". CTV News. Bell Media. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b "Male rapper identifying as female, declares he broke female deadlift record". WQAD. 11 March 2019. Archived from the original on 29 September 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
- ^ Myers, Fraser (24 May 2019). "I became a woman to break the women's deadlift record". Spiked. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b c "'Trans women shouldn't be allowed to compete in women's sport'". Sky News. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ O'Connor, Roisin (28 September 2020). "JK Rowling: Ian McEwan and Graham Linehan among literary figures to support author amid transphobia row". The Independent. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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