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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. 

Early life

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. He attended St. Paul's Catholic School in Abbey Wood, London SE2, (now known as St. Paul's Academy). He went on to study A Levels at St Francis Xavier Sixth Form College, SW12. Of 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 is unknown if it was released as a free mixtape or not.

In 2006, Tempah gained a great deal of airplay on British music TV channel, Channel AKA, for his song "Tears" and later on gained more recognition for "Wifey." Later in the year, he collaborated on a track ("Perfect GCD Hood Economics Room 147") with grime artist Ultra and producers/songwritersAgent X.

Tempah toured with Chipmunk in February 2010. His first break as a musician came when Sony launched its PlayStation Portable (PSP) and used a track entitled "Listen To The Vibe" featuring Yasmin and DJ Ironik, and "Atlantic/Warner" for the futuristic racing game, Wipeout Pure. This resulted in a promotional European tour alongside the likes of Sway and Dizzee Rascal.

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."

Tempah 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.

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