Tinie Tempah exploded onto the scene in 2010 with his debut album, Disc-Overy. Ten years later, he’s as big as ever, with two further smash hit studio albums, countless awards, multiple platinum-selling singles, numerous sell-out tours, and even a fashion label to his name. Credited with helping make grime accessible to the masses, he’s risen through the ranks to become one of the most respected and talented artists in the UK music scene…. and he’s still only 31 years old. Find out more with these ten fast facts.
1. He likes to celebrate with a cuppa
Not many grime artists would celebrate their first-ever record deal with a cup of earl grey tea and some finger sandwiches, but Tinie is clearly the exception. After scout and music consultant Jade Richardson saw the then unsigned Tinie’s performance at the 2009 Wireless Festival, she got straight in touch with Parlophone Records president Miles Leonard, saying “You’ve got to check out this guy Tinie Tempah. He came on at lunchtime and there are about 1,000 kids screaming for him.” When Leonard visited Tinie in the studio a week later, he was just as impressed with his talent as Richardson, A record deal with the label followed in short order, with Tinie announcing his signing via a competition on his blog, offering the winning fan the chance to have high tea with him at Claridge’s in celebration of the deal.
2. He was an overnight sensation
When Tinie released his debut album Disc-Overy in 2010, he went from complete unknown to major superstar seemingly overnight. The record itself went three times platinum, spawned the hugely successful singles Pass Out, Written in the Stars, and Frisky, (among others), and landed the sharply dressed grime artist the job of opening for Rihanna on her Last Girl on Earth Tour.
3. He had a difficult second album
After the massive success of his debut album, the first couple of years of the 2010s saw Tinie riding high. And then came the “difficult” second album. Although it didn’t flop completely, Demonstration sold a fraction of the unit numbers of its predecessor, leaving Tinie suddenly adrift. “It wasn’t received like the first album was,” Tinie mused to NME. “Maybe we over-thought it or maybe we were too sterile, too forensic with it.” Fortunately, a few guest vocal spots on DVBBS and Borgeous’ house track ‘Tsunami (Jump)’ and Cheryl Cole’s ‘Crazy Stupid Love’, along with a sensational turn at the 2014 BAFTAs, managed to pull his career back from the edge.
4. Tinie Tempah Net Worth
You don’t get to the top of your game (and certainly not to the top of the charts), without talent. Tinie has talent to spare, and what do you get when you combine talent with success? Money. Lots and lots of money. Judging from the latest reports from Celebrity Net Worth, the rapper’s in no danger of having to cut back on his lavish lifestyle anytime soon, not with that $3 million he’s got at in the bank.
5. He’s into taxidermy
You don’t often come across a rapper with a passion for taxidermy, but then again, Tinie’s no standard-issue rapper. Since working his way up from a council flat to a lavish Victorian terrace in Hackney (which, fun fact, was once owned by the late designer Alexander McQueen), Tinie’s got into home décor in a big (and somewhat unusual) scale. Of all the pieces decorating his house, pride of place goes to the statement taxidermy pieces, which at the moment include a zebra and a giraffe.
6. His heart’s in London
Tinie’s touring schedule may have taken him all over the world, but his heart still belongs to his native city. “London,” he answered when asked by the Telegraph to name his favorite place. “Still London. I grew up on Aylesbury Estate, in south-east London. I live in the east now, in Hackney. Our city is so ethnically diverse, I love it for that. My second favorite city is Amsterdam: all the coolest young fashion designers are there and the creativity coming from the youth in Amsterdam is exciting. I go there, soak up the culture and the fashion shops.”
7. He’s a believer
Going to church may not be something we think of grime artists doing a lot of, but Tinie’s a different kettle of fish entirely. The rapper’s a practicing catholic and sees the religion as the basis of his morality. “I definitely believe in God,” he told the Guardian. “I pray as much as possible. I think it’s imperative to have faith or religion because it’s good to have morals, to be kind to others”
8. He’s a fashion icon
Tinie may have risen to fame off the back of the grime explosion of the early noughties, but in some circles, he’s as well known for his dapper fashion choices as he is for his music. Two years after dropping his debut album, his style credentials had won him the title of best-dressed man at 2012 GQ’s Men of the Year Awards. Since then, he’s picked up numerous other accolades, served as the men ambassador for London Menswear Collections, launched a fashion label entitled What We Wear, and opened a pop-up store at the Protein Studio in Shoreditch, London.
9. His real name is Patrick
Tinie was born Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu on 7 November 1988 on the Aylesbury Estate in south-east London. After deciding Patrick Okogwu was unlikely to get him far in music, he started casting around for an alternative, eventually finding inspiration in, of all things, a thesaurus. While flicking through a copy of the Oxford English Thesaurus at school, he stumbled on the words “Tiny” and “Anger”. After juxtaposing anger with temper, he reemerged as Tinie Tempah.
10. He’d love to work with Adele
Tinie has already worked with some huge stars, but there are a few big names still on his wish list. “I’d really like to collaborate with Lykke Li,” he told NME. “I think she’s amazing. Sleigh Bells, they’re pretty awesome. I’d like to collaborate with Adele as well, she’s out of this world. And Kanye as well, that would be pretty awesome.”
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