Some might recognise Cleotrapa from her grammar lesson videos, which went viral last year and featured the New Yorker perched in front of a whiteboard, unapologetically schooling the Internet on topics like “angel vs. angle”. Others might remember her from a PSA-style clip that blew up in 2018, in which she took swings at the air and pleaded, “Save me a damn babyfather!” And since dropping her single “I Don’t Trap” in June 2021, which was followed by live rap freestyles for media channels BET and On the Radar Radio, many will now know Cleotrapa as a talented rising musician.
Cleotrapa, who is of Nigerian descent, was raised in Park Hill, Staten Island, by her mother. She began making music in 2018, after an impromptu session at the studio led her to release her debut diss track, “Letter to My Haters”. It was also around this time that her social media videos started gaining traction for their blunt humour, relatability and no-nonsense observations. They’ve won fans amongst musician SZA, as well as fashion designer Telfar Clemens, who regularly features Cleotrapa content on the Telfar social pages.
At only 24 years old, the influencer-turned-rapper is flexing her skills as a multihyphenate. Cleotrapa is currently based in Atlanta and working on releasing more music in the coming months, including a single titled “Girlfriend”, which samples the 2007 Avril Lavigne track of the same name.
Text Morna Fraser
