# Denise Chaila

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**Denise Mwaka Chaila**[1] is an Irish-Zambian rapper, singer, poet, grime and hip hop artist based in [Limerick](/source/Limerick).[2][3]

## Career

Chaila began performing on the Limerick music scene in 2012. Chaila released her debut EP, *Duel Citizenship*, in 2019. She had already featured on the 2016 [Rusangano Family](/source/Rusangano_Family) album, *Let the Dead Bury the Dead* and performs with them regularly.[4] [Cillian Murphy](/source/Cillian_Murphy) featured Chaila's music on his [BBC Radio 6](/source/BBC_Radio_6_Music) show and interviewed her for *Port* magazine.[5] She was one of the performers at the *Perspectives: Imagining Ireland. Speaking Up, Singing Louder* in National Concert Hall, Dublin on 9 February 2020.[6] Her first album, *Go Bravely*, was released on 2 October 2020.[7] Chaila was one of the musical acts featured in the series of remote performances during the [COVID-19 pandemic](/source/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_Republic_of_Ireland), *[Other Voices](/source/Other_Voices_(Irish_TV_series)): Courage*, in May 2020.[8] The one-hour performance was recorded in the [National Gallery of Ireland](/source/National_Gallery_of_Ireland).[9][10] On 3 July 2021, Chaila was one of the headline acts to appear at a pilot music festival held in the grounds of the [Royal Hospital, Kilmainham](/source/Royal_Hospital,_Kilmainham), held to test how festivals might be run in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] In April / May 2022, she opened for [Ed Sheeran](/source/Ed_Sheeran) on his Irish dates of the Mathematics tour.

## Personal life

Chaila was born at [Chikankata-Mazabuka District](/source/Chikankata_District), [Zambia](/source/Zambia), daughter of Elijah and Lydia Chaila. Her family moved to [Ireland](/source/Ireland) when she was aged three, when her father, a neurological consultant, was offered a position at a hospital in Dublin. Her mother is a hospital radiographer.[12] The family later moved to [Limerick](/source/Limerick). She attended the [Kings Hospital Secondary School](/source/The_King's_Hospital) in [Palmerstown](/source/Palmerstown) and went on to study English literature and sociology at the [University of Limerick](/source/University_of_Limerick).[5]

## Discography

- *Duel Citizenship* EP (2019)
- *Go Bravely* LP (2020)[7]

## Awards and nominations

### [Choice Music Prize](/source/Choice_Music_Prize)

Year Nominated work Award Result 2020 Go Bravely Album of the Year [13]

## References

1. ["COPPER BULLET"](https://www.ascap.com/repertory#/ace/search/workID/921151400). *ascap.com*. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved August 30, 2025.

1. ["One to Watch: Denise Chaila"](http://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/feb/06/one-to-watch-denise-chaila-go-bravely). *the Guardian*. 2021-02-06. Retrieved 2021-09-06.

1. Salazar Winspear, Olivia (4 March 2021). ["Denise Chaila 'goes bravely' where Irish hip-hop fears to tread"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwJ5Ukl-VYo) (video). *ENCORE*. [France24](/source/France24). Retrieved 10 June 2021. – via [YouTube](/source/YouTube)

1. McGoran, Peter (4 April 2019). ["Music World: Denise Chaila"](https://www.hotpress.com/music/music-world-denise-chaila-22770324). *[Hotpress.com](/source/Hotpress.com)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20190406120236/https://www.hotpress.com/music/music-world-denise-chaila-22770324) 2019-04-06 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-06-10.

1. Murphy, Lauren (15 February 2020). ["'You shouldn't bend to fit the world and its labels'"](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/you-shouldnt-bend-to-fit-the-world-and-its-labels-38950016.html). *[independent.ie](/source/Independent.ie)*. Retrieved 2020-06-10.

1. O'Connell, Edaein. ["Limerick rapper Denise Chaila is an artist you need to know"](https://www.image.ie/life/denise-chalia-interview-171437). *[Image.ie](/source/Image.ie)*. Retrieved 10 June 2020.

1. ["Go Bravely, by Denise Chaila"](https://denisechaila.bandcamp.com/). *[Bandcamp](/source/Bandcamp)*. Retrieved 2020-10-04.

1. ["Other Voices: Courage - watch Denise Chaila live in concert"](https://www.rte.ie/culture/2020/0514/1138412-other-voices-courage-watch-denise-chaila-live-in-concert/). *[RTÉ.ie](/source/RT%C3%89.ie)*. 2020-05-14.

1. Cleary, Andrea (21 May 2020). ["A Sound You Can't Predict"](https://journalofmusic.com/criticism/sound-you-cant-predict). *The Journal of Music*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200610174251/https://journalofmusic.com/criticism/sound-you-cant-predict) 2020-06-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-06-10.

1. Cleary, Andrea (7 June 2020). ["Why Limerick poet and rapper Denise Chaila is the voice of now"](https://www.businesspost.ie/music/why-limerick-poet-and-rapper-denise-chaila-is-the-voice-of-now-a7df449f). *[Business Post](/source/Business_Post)*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20200610122754/https://www.businesspost.ie/music/why-limerick-poet-and-rapper-denise-chaila-is-the-voice-of-now-a7df449f) 2020-06-10 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2020-06-10.

1. Quinn, Daniel (3 July 2021). ["Thousands attend pilot music festival in Dublin"](https://www.rte.ie/news/coronavirus/2021/0703/1232814-pilot-music-festival/). RTÉ. Retrieved 6 July 2021.

1. ["Formation: Queen of 2020 Denise Chaila opens up on her mental health struggles and how she learned to let her unique light shine"](https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/formation-queen-of-2020-denise-chaila-opens-up-on-her-mental-health-struggles-and-how-she-learned-to-let-her-unique-light-shine-39865143.html)

1. ["Denise Chaila Wins Choice Music Prize for Go Bravely"](https://www.hotpress.com/music/denise-chaila-wins-choice-music-prize-album-of-the-year-for-go-bravely-22844264). [Hot Press](/source/Hot_Press). 4 March 2021.

## External links

- [Denise Chaila](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2VjvDoPMZvWItuivXdoe5Y) on [Spotify](/source/Spotify)
- [Denise Chaila](https://twitter.com/DeniseChaila) on Twitter
- [Denise Chaila](https://denisechaila.bandcamp.com/) on [Bandcamp](/source/Bandcamp)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Denise Chaila](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Chaila) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denise_Chaila?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.