At the age of just 25, rapper Niyi Adelakun has already enjoyed a career that would be the envy of most musicians.

With a record deal under his belt at 19, he has toured the world, performing packed-out shows from Russia to the U.S.

He has played the Glastonbury and Reading festivals, and appeared on stage alongside Will.i.am — the pair performed together at a one-off gig at London’s Coronet Theatre in 2010.

Rapper Adeniyi Adeyemi Adelakun, better known as Niyi, pictured outside King’s College, Cambridge where he is studying English literature

In 2006, he opened for Lady Gaga at her first-ever British show at the London nightclub Punk.

Niyi’s credentials as a cutting-edge urban artist are further bolstered by his penchant for large hats, brightly coloured tracksuits, gold chains and high-top trainers.

However, the fact that he is reading English Literature and Education at  St John’s College, Cambridge, and feels more at home in the hallowed groves of academe than on the mean streets of the ‘hood’ will do little for his ‘street cred’.

Nor will his announcement this week that he plans to abandon rap for a career as a teacher.

Niyi is the first professional rapper ever to attend Cambridge University.

The 25-year-old has had a career as a rapper that many would be jealous of

While a typical day once started at noon, with afternoons at the studio followed by parties and performances until the small hours, he now rises at 5am to spend time studying in his room at St John’s before eight o’clock breakfast in the 16th-century dining hall.

By 8.30am, he’s in the library where, in between lectures and seminars, he spends his time immersed in books.

‘It couldn’t really be more different from my life before,’ he says with a laugh.

The windows of his wood-panelled room on the third floor of the college’s first-year accommodation overlook the River Cam, the squawks of its resident geese and swans rising through the lush foliage of the surrounding trees.

‘It seems completely normal now,’ says Niyi. ‘But when I arrived, I felt as if I was in a period drama.’
His remarkable transformation began three years ago. Despite his success — he was then recording his debut album with trendy dance label Tummy Touch Records — he found himself becoming increasingly disillusioned with the music industry.

‘It had reached the point where I was performing or partying every night — the nights and days were all melting into one.’

The idea of switching careers to become a teacher came about gradually, after a series of conversations with young fans at gigs.

‘There’s a lot of talk about how young people lack aspiration. But I found that many did have hopes and goals but didn’t feel they could achieve them. I thought that, perhaps, if I were in the education system, I could work to change that.’

He had left his state school in Chelmsford, Essex, at 16. So — unbeknown to his music industry cohorts — he enrolled at City Of Westminster College to do his A-levels on an intensive nine-month programme, attending classes two days a week and doing his coursework in his spare time.

Adeniyi Adeyemi Adelakun has performed with superstar Will.i.am and opened for Lady Gaga

Studying Government And Politics and English Literature there, he discovered that he had a love of learning.

‘The teachers were phenomenal — so encouraging. I’d never read much before, but with their help I discovered literature and how much I enjoyed it.

‘In some respects there’s little difference between Wordsworth and some rap song — they’re both there to help us understand humans and human behaviour.’

Before long, he’d set his sights firmly on a place at Cambridge.

The rapper has now said that he is giving it all up to become a teacher

‘I thought, if I’m going to give up on music then I might as well aim for the best.

‘On the Ucas form you could put five choices but I was so adamant that I was going to go to Cambridge that it was the only one I put down.

‘I kept it a secret from nearly everyone. I was a bit embarrassed.

‘There’s this idea that you need your father’s father to have gone there, that people like me — who haven’t been to a private or public school — don’t get in.’ After two gruelling rounds of interviews in December 2011, he learned that he’d won a place in January last year.

‘I couldn’t believe it. When I opened the letter I was so happy I hugged the postman.’

When he arrived at St John’s in September, however, he found he was one of just three black students at the college. Says Niyi: ‘There are more Old Etonians than there are black people here.’
To Niyi, many of Cambridge’s centuries-old traditions were completely alien concepts.

‘On our second night we had our matriculation dinner. We had to wear black tie and an academic gown — I’ve never worn a gown before.

‘The hall was like something out of Harry Potter. A man with a big, booming voice banged on a gong and said grace in Latin. I didn’t even know we were meant to bow our heads until I looked round to see what everyone else was doing.’

Equally baffling was the night he was invited to join one of the university’s famed dining clubs for a one-off meal. ‘I’d assumed that sort of thing didn’t exist — but they held this seven-course meal in the Wordsworth Room.

‘There was all this amazing wine and port. I’d never seen anything like that at all.’

Needless to say, there was plenty to mark Niyi out from the crowd — not just his clothes, but his use of urban slang, which was frequently lost on his bookish fellow students.

Album artwork for Nyi’s album. The rapper had won a record contract at just 19 years old

‘I met a guy at a party. He’d drunk quite a lot. I said, “You’re caning it too much.” He had no idea what I meant. So I explained: “You’re going a bit off the rails.”’

Nevertheless, Niyi is embracing his new surroundings.

He’s taken to regular punting outings on the Cam, and last week was baptised in St John’s 19th-century chapel.

‘As long as you approach these things with an open mind and sense of fun, it’s actually quite enjoyable.

‘Getting up on stage can be quite frightening, but I did it. This is just another new experience, another kind of special.

‘I’d made a cheeky deal with God that if I got in to Cambridge, I would try and be a better Christian,’ he admits.

Nyi said he would not rap in class, as it would be ‘the most cringeworthy thing ever’

His bling-tastic outfits have proven a hit on campus. ‘The other students love them.

‘They care less about what I look like here than they did in music industry meetings, when it was all about how to market yourself to an audience.

‘And everyone here is a bit weird,’ he adds. ‘Intelligent people are often a bit autistic, a bit different. People have always looked at me as though I was a bit odd, so I fit in quite well.’

Despite his success, Niyi never fitted the stereotype of the money-loving rap star more interested in Cristal champagne and ‘pimped-out rides’ (souped-up cars) than the life of the mind.

Born Adeniyi Adeyemi Adelakun, he was raised by his single mother Joyce, who made ends meet by taking three jobs. They lived in a three-bedroom rented house in Chelmsford.

As a child, Niyi developed a taste for Radio 4. ‘I’ve always been a fan of The Archers – I still listen to it now if I can.’

Though he says he ‘didn’t take school too seriously,’ he passed his GCSEs with straight As.

He broke into the music industry almost by accident. Living in a shared flat in Stockwell, South London, he earned money DJ-ing and promoting club nights.

‘I started mixing my own vocals into my sets for fun — then Tummy Touch Records got in touch about a record deal.’

In an industry where songs about violence and misogyny are commonplace, Niyi favoured whimsical songs about his love of poached eggs and developing a crush on his friend’s mum.

‘I’ve never really experienced violence so rapping about that just wasn’t relevant,’ he says.

Once a regular at award shows and celebrity parties, since arriving in Cambridge, he’s embraced an altogether more sober existence.

When he graduates, he says, he’d like to work in a state school, and hopes to encourage more people from diverse backgrounds to apply to Cambridge.

‘Young people need to be inspired — a lot of them have forgotten what a privilege it is to be able to go to school. Learning can be the most fun thing in the world.’

He hopes the combination of his music industry experience and a Cambridge degree will prove a winning formula to his students.

However, he promises he won’t be breaking out any of his old rap songs in lessons.

‘Can you imagine if you had some awful teacher rapping at you? It would be the most cringeworthy thing ever!’

In the meantime, there are his end-of-year exams, which he’s currently sitting — not to mention two more years to get through.

‘The workload is intense — with music, if you sent a track through a day late, it was OK. Here, if you miss an essay, nothing waits for you.’

Read more: Daily Mail