Hackney-born musician Solomon O.B triumphs at National Poetry Slam

Solomon Ogunmefun-Brooker, whose stage name is Solomon O.B, won over the audience and judges with a performance of his poem Unorthodox Beginnings, recounting his upbringing in foster care, at the Royal Albert Hall last weekend.

Ogunmefun-Brooker was born in Hackney in the early 1990s, but was taken into care, along with older brother Sam and younger sister Anu, when he was two years old.

Raised by foster parents Victor and Patricia Brooker, the 24-year-old said he and his siblings were lucky.

“They essentially raised us as their own and gave us a beautiful upbringing,” he said. “They’ve shaped my character completely and I always try to remember how lucky we are.

“To have all been fostered together was a pretty rare situation, especially as they had five kids of their own and about 20 grandchildren.”

Ogunmefun-Brooker, who now lives in Bristol, credited his foster parents with inspiring his creativity from a young age.

He said they “always encouraged me to do what I enjoyed and facilitated everything as much as they could.

“I used to draw and paint all the time when I was younger, so Christmas was always filled with acrylic and oil paints, canvases, paintbrushes, pencils.”

Ogunmefun-Brooker even changed his surname as a Christmas present to the pair in 2014.

“It was something I wanted to do for a while before it actually happened,” he said. “Originally I planned to do it for their 50th wedding anniversary, but missed the boat.

“Then Christmas 2014, I got myself organised and handed them the certificate as a present in the morning.”

His foster mum, who he calls nan, was touched. “My nan burst into tears,” he said.

Now the young musician is getting ready to release his debut hip hop solo EP The Writing is Real, due out in next few months.

He also plans to release a short film and made the final six of BBC and Roundhouse London’s Words First campaign.