Tinie Tempah

Tinie Tempah (born Patrick Okogwu, 7.11.1988)

Tinie Tempah is an English rapper from Plumstead, South London, who rose to fame with the release of his number-one debut album, Disc-Overy, which contained the singles 'Pass Out', 'Written in the Stars' and 'Miami 2 Ibiza'.

Tinie Tempah: Childhood

Tinie Tempah's full name is Patrik Chukwuem Okogwu Jr. His family is of Nigerian heritage. As a teenager, he attended St. Paul's RC Secondary School (now known as St. Paul's Academy), leaving with GCSEs. He then went on to study at Saint Francis Xavier Sixth Form College, which he left with 3 A Levels to his name.

Tinie Tempah: Music Career

Tinie Tempah's first underground hit came with the promotional single 'Wifey', which was produced by Flukes, from the duo Crazy Cousins. The track maintained the top spot on Channel U's Urban Chart for 10 weeks in 2006.

The debut LP from Tinie Tempah was released in October 2010 and was entitled Disc-Overy. The album contained the track 'Pass Out', which was his debut single proper. The track was picked up by a number of big-name radio DJs such as Zane Lowe, Tim Westwood, Ras Kwame and Trevor Nelson. The single went straight to number one in the UK, beating both Lady Gaga and Beyonce in the week of its release. The track has been remixed by the likes of SBTRKT, Kano and Bashy.

The second single from Disc-Overy was 'Frisky', which was released in June 2010. 'Frisky' was followed up by 'Written in the Stars', which featured vocals from Eric Turner, lead singer of the band Street Fighting Man. The track became Tinie Tempah's second number one single.

'Miami 2 Ibiza', released in October 2010, was joint single between Tinie Tempah and the Swedish House Mafia.

Tinie Tempah has performed at a number of high profile gigs and tours. In February 2010, he supported Chipmunk on tour and in May that year, was asked to open for Mr Hudson. That same month, Tinie Tempah performed at the radio 1 Big Weekend in Bangor, along with Florence and the Machine, Dizzee Rascal, Faithless, MGMT and Alicia Keys. He also supported Rihanna for four dates, with Tinchy Stryder and Pixie Lott. In June 2010, Tinie Tempah was selected to play the Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium, along with Usher, Justin Bieber, Cheryl Cole and Kesha. He also played at 2010's Wireless and V Festivals.

At the 2010 MOBO Awards, Tinie Tempah won the Best Newcomer Award and the Best Video award for 'Frisky'. He was also nominated for Best UK Act and Best Song for 'Pass Out'.