Tinie Tempah
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu[1] // ⓘ (born 7 November 1988),[2] better known by his stage name Tinie (formerly Tinie Tempah),[3] is a British rapper and singer. He has been signed to Parlophone since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. He created his own entertainment company Disturbing London in 2006, along with his cousin Dumi Oburota.[4]
Tinie
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu
7 November 1988
Plumstead, London, England
- Rapper
- singer
- television presenter
2005–present
After releasing a number of mixtapes, he released his debut album, Disc-Overy, in October 2010. Preceded by two British number-one singles, "Pass Out" and "Written in the Stars", the album charted at number one and was certified Platinum the next year. In February 2011, he won two Brit Awards for Best British Breakthrough Act and Best British Single.[5]
In November 2013, he released his second album, entitled Demonstration. Preceded by top ten singles "Trampoline" and "Children of the Sun", the album charted at number three and was certified gold by the BPI the next year.[6] In June 2015, he released "Not Letting Go", the first single from his third album Youth. This gave Tinie his sixth UK number one, surpassing Dizzee Rascal as the most by any UK rap artist.[7]
Early life[edit]
Tinie was born as Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu on 7 November 1988 in London, the son of Igbo parents from Nigeria Patrick Okogwu, Sr. and Rosemary Opiah.[8] His middle name, Chukwuemeka, means "God has done more" in the Igbo language.[9]
Until he was twelve years old, Tinie lived on the Aylesbury Estate in south-east London with his parents and three younger siblings: Kelly, Kelvin, and Marian.[8] The family later moved to Plumstead, with Tinie attending St. Paul's Catholic School in nearby Abbey Wood. After earning 10 GCSEs,[10] he sat A-Levels in Media Studies, Psychology, and Religious Studies at Saint Francis Xavier Sixth Form College.[11][12] At twelve years old, Tinie conceived his stage name after viewing the music video for So Solid Crew's "21 Seconds". He used a thesaurus in class, juxtaposing "tempah" (temper), which he saw under "angry", with "tinie" (tiny), to ameliorate the aggressive sound of "tempah".[13]
Regarding his London upbringing, Tinie 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."[1]
Career history[edit]
2005–2008: Early career[edit]
Tinie, then known as Tinie Tempah,[3] began his music career in 2005 when he joined the Aftershock Hooligans (Aftershock Records), recording hundreds of songs amongst the fellow Hooligans. His first mixtape, "Chapter 1: Verse 22", was released via Aftershock Records in 2005, as a free mixtape. In 2006, Tinie gained a great deal of airplay on British music TV channel Channel U for his song "Tears", and later on gained more recognition for "Wifey". Later in the year, he collaborated on a track with grime artist Ultra and producers and songwriters Agent X. He released the mixtape Hood Economics Room 147: The 80 Minute Course in 2007 and left the label later that year. 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.
Tinie, together with his manager and cousin Dumi Oburota founded the independent label Disturbing London primarily as an outlet for Tinie'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."[14] The activities of the label were initially largely funded by student loans and the proceeds from buying and selling cars.[14] Disturbing London also produce a clothing range that Tinie wears and promotes.
When scout and music consultant Jade Richardson saw Tinie 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."[15] Leonard and A&R Nathan Thompson visited Tinie 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 Tinie's career and by the ambitious plans they had for his future.[15] 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."[15] Tinie announced his signing to Parlophone in October 2009 by running a competition on his blog, with the winner invited to high tea at Claridges to celebrate the deal.[16]
A major break came when Sony launched its PlayStation Portable and used a track featuring Yasmin and DJ Ironik, and "Atlantic/Warner" for the futuristic Wipeout Pure. This resulted in a promotional European tour alongside the likes of Sway and Dizzee Rascal.
2009–2011: Success and Disc-Overy[edit]
Tinie released his debut single "Pass Out" through Parlophone on 28 February 2010. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 1, having sold just over 92,000 copies in its first week, and sold sufficiently well to stay at the top spot for a second week. Tinie toured with Chipmunk in February 2010, going on to support Rihanna for four dates in May on her 10-date UK tour with Tinchy Stryder and Pixie Lott.[17] Tinie performed at Radio 1 Big Weekend in Bangor on 22 May 2010 on the in New Music We Trust stage. He also toured with Mr Hudson in May 2010, as well as performing at many summer balls at various universities around the United Kingdom.
Tinie's second single "Frisky" was released on 6 June 2010, entering the UK Singles Chart at number 2. "Frisky" would later be used for a 2013 Bacardi commercial advertising their new pineapple flavor. Tinie played a host of festival dates throughout the summer, including the Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium on 6 June 2010, at Wakestock in Abersoch on 3 July 2010, both T4 on the Beach and the Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park on 4 July, and V Festival on 21 and 22 August 2010. He also had the honour of performing his first single "Pass Out" on 25 June 2010 at Glastonbury on the Pyramid stage with Snoop Dogg.
Tinie released his third single "Written in the Stars" on 19 September 2010. This again charted at number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, selling over 115,000 copies in its first week (his biggest-selling single to date), and charting in a number of other countries. "Written in the Stars" would go on to be used for a WrestleMania XXVII countdown promo during the WWE PPV Royal Rumble on 30 January 2011, and was later confirmed by WWE that it would be the official theme for Wrestlemania XXVII. It is also the theme song for the 2011 MLB Post Season, and was used as the entrance song for the New York Giants before Super Bowl XLVI.
Disturbing London[edit]
In 2006, Tinie founded the independent record label Disturbing London.[38]
Other[edit]
Tinie is also a prominent figure in modern British fashion.[39] In 2012, he was named best dressed man in GQ's Men of the Year Awards.
In 2015, he was chosen as the new men ambassador for London Menswear Collections, replacing Nick Grimshaw,[40] and was named one of GQ's 50 best dressed British men.[41] In October 2015, Tinie became a team captain for Sky 1's music/comedy panel show Bring the Noise alongside pop star Nicole Scherzinger.
In 2016, he appeared on the British programme Top Gear, along with Seasick Steve and Sharleen Spiteri in a South African SUV challenge. In 2017 he launched his fashion label What We Wear at London Fashion Week Men's and streamed the show on YouTube.[42] Same year, Tinie welcomed guests at his pop-up store launch at the Protein Studio in Shoreditch, London.[43]
In 2020, Tempah appeared in a Channel 4 documentary The Talk which aired on 4 August 2020. The documentary, produced by Whisper TV, is about Black Britons sharing their experiences of the conversations parents have to help their children face racism. The documentary also featured Emeli Sande, Rochelle and Marvin Humes, Ade Adepitan, Ashley and Jordan Banjo, Gary Younge, Lennie James and more.
In October 2021, Tempah presented the four-part Channel Four documentary Outrageous Extraordinary Extensions.[44]
In 2022 he presented the BBC Arts series Extraordinary Portraits which explores the art of portrait making and portraiture’s ability to communicate without words.[45]
In 2023, Tempah co-presented with Naomi Schiff the four-part Channel 4 motoring series Bangers: Mad for Cars.[46]
Personal life[edit]
Tinie is a Catholic. He said: "I definitely believe in God. 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".[47]
In Cirencester on 4 July 2019 he married Eve De Haan, daughter of Sir Roger De Haan, former owner of Saga plc, and Mauritian-born Marie Lyvie Goder.[48] They have two daughters, born in 2018 and 2021.[49]
Tinie is a supporter of Arsenal F.C.[50] and the Labour Party.[51]
Tinie is a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu[52] and has competed in the sport.[53] In 2023, he won the English BJJ Open in the Master 1 blue belt lightweight division.[54]
