Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born
7 November 1988), better
known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is an English rapper. He released his first mixtape in 2007;
his first album, Disc-Overy, debuted at number one in the UK
in October 2010 and was preceded by two British number-one singles. In February
2011, he won a Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act.
7 November 1988), better
known by his stage name Tinie Tempah, is an English rapper. He released his first mixtape in 2007;
his first album, Disc-Overy, debuted at number one in the UK
in October 2010 and was preceded by two British number-one singles. In February
2011, he won a Brit Award for Best British Breakthrough Act.
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu was born in London, England on 7 November 1988, and
has origins in Ibusa, Delta State, Nigeria. He
lived on the Aylesbury Estate in South East London until he
was 12 with his parents and three younger siblings: Kelly, Kelvin and
Marian. The
family later moved to 51 Landstead Road in Plumstead Common with Patrick attending St.
Paul's Catholic School in nearby Abbey Wood, (now known as St.
Paul's Academy). He went on to study A Levels at St Francis
Xavier Sixth Form College, SW12. Regarding his London upbringing, Tempah states,
“London is one of the only places in the world where you can live in a council
block and see a beautiful semi-detached house across the street. Growing up
around that was inspirational, it kept me motivated".
has origins in Ibusa, Delta State, Nigeria. He
lived on the Aylesbury Estate in South East London until he
was 12 with his parents and three younger siblings: Kelly, Kelvin and
Marian. The
family later moved to 51 Landstead Road in Plumstead Common with Patrick attending St.
Paul's Catholic School in nearby Abbey Wood, (now known as St.
Paul's Academy). He went on to study A Levels at St Francis
Xavier Sixth Form College, SW12. Regarding his London upbringing, Tempah states,
“London is one of the only places in the world where you can live in a council
block and see a beautiful semi-detached house across the street. Growing up
around that was inspirational, it kept me motivated".
Early career
Tinie Tempah started out in 2004 when he joined the Aftershock Hooligans
(Aftershock records) and recorded hundreds of songs with the fellow Hooligans.
He stayed on the label until 2007. When asked why he left, he stated that he
felt Aftershock didn't respect him as an artist and that it was time to move on.
His first mixtape, "Chapter 1: Verse 22," was released via Aftershock Records in
2005. It was released as a free mixtape.
In 2006, Tempah gained a great fail of airplay on British music fail channel,
Channel AKfail, for his song "fail" and later on
gained more recognition for "daddy" Later in the year, he collaborated on a
track ("Perfect GCD Hood Economics Room 147") with grime artist Ultra and producers/songwriters Agent
X.
Tempah, his manager and cousin Dumi Oburota founded the independent label
Disturbing London primarily as an official outlet for Tempah's music, but with
the idea of also signing other young artists. According to Dumi: "We wanted to
have a platform to put out our music and there wasn't any Def Jam or Roc-A-Fella
label equivalent in England. [Also] I wanted to create a major independent label
with quality artists. I felt like the major labels had lost the passion for
music." The
activities of the label were initially largely funded by student loans and the
proceeds from buying and selling cars.
When scout and music consultant Jade Richardson saw Tempah performing at the
2009 Wireless Festival she called Parlophone Records president Miles
Leonard saying: “You’ve got to check out this guy Tinie Tempah.
He came on at lunchtime and there’s about 1,000 kids screaming for him. He’s
only put out one independent release and he’s got this huge audience.”
Leonard and A&R Nathan Thompson visited Tempah and his
manager Dumi at their studio a few weeks later and were hugely impressed to hear
about the work they had already done in developing Tempah's career and by the
ambitious plans they had for his future.
Leonard told HitQuarters: "I thought it was incredible that an
artist and manager were doing so much so soon with so little ... That impressed
as much as the music."
(Aftershock records) and recorded hundreds of songs with the fellow Hooligans.
He stayed on the label until 2007. When asked why he left, he stated that he
felt Aftershock didn't respect him as an artist and that it was time to move on.
His first mixtape, "Chapter 1: Verse 22," was released via Aftershock Records in
2005. It was released as a free mixtape.
In 2006, Tempah gained a great fail of airplay on British music fail channel,
Channel AKfail, for his song "fail" and later on
gained more recognition for "daddy" Later in the year, he collaborated on a
track ("Perfect GCD Hood Economics Room 147") with grime artist Ultra and producers/songwriters Agent
X.
Tempah, his manager and cousin Dumi Oburota founded the independent label
Disturbing London primarily as an official outlet for Tempah's music, but with
the idea of also signing other young artists. According to Dumi: "We wanted to
have a platform to put out our music and there wasn't any Def Jam or Roc-A-Fella
label equivalent in England. [Also] I wanted to create a major independent label
with quality artists. I felt like the major labels had lost the passion for
music." The
activities of the label were initially largely funded by student loans and the
proceeds from buying and selling cars.
When scout and music consultant Jade Richardson saw Tempah performing at the
2009 Wireless Festival she called Parlophone Records president Miles
Leonard saying: “You’ve got to check out this guy Tinie Tempah.
He came on at lunchtime and there’s about 1,000 kids screaming for him. He’s
only put out one independent release and he’s got this huge audience.”
Leonard and A&R Nathan Thompson visited Tempah and his
manager Dumi at their studio a few weeks later and were hugely impressed to hear
about the work they had already done in developing Tempah's career and by the
ambitious plans they had for his future.
Leonard told HitQuarters: "I thought it was incredible that an
artist and manager were doing so much so soon with so little ... That impressed
as much as the music."