British rapper and singer
Musical artist
Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu[1] (born 7 November 1988),[2] better known by his stage name Tinie (formerly Tinie 6️⃣ Tempah),[3] is a British rapper and singer. He has been signed to Parlophone since 2009, a subsidiary of Warner Music 6️⃣ Group. He created his own entertainment company Disturbing London in 2006, along with his cousin Dumi Oburota.[4]
After releasing a number 6️⃣ of mixtapes, he released his debut album, Disc-Overy, in October 2010. Preceded by two British number-one singles, "Pass Out" and 6️⃣ "Written in the Stars", the album charted at number one and was certified Platinum the next year. In February 2011, 6️⃣ he won two Brit Awards for Best British Breakthrough Act and Best British Single.[5]
In November 2013, he released his second 6️⃣ album, entitled Demonstration. Preceded by top ten singles "Trampoline" and "Children of the Sun", the album charted at number three 6️⃣ and was certified gold by the BPI the next year.[6] In June 2024, he released "Not Letting Go", the first 6️⃣ single from his third album Youth. This gave Tinie his sixth UK number one, surpassing Dizzee Rascal as the most 6️⃣ by any UK rap artist.[7]
Early life [ edit ]
Tinie was born as Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu on 7 November 1988 in 6️⃣ London, the son of Igbo parents from Nigeria Patrick Okogwu, Sr. and Rosemary Opiah.[8] His middle name, Chukwuemeka, means "God 6️⃣ has done more" in the Igbo language.[9]
Until he was twelve years old, Tinie lived on the Aylesbury Estate in south-east 6️⃣ London with his parents and three younger siblings: Kelly, Kelvin, and Marian.[8] The family later moved to Plumstead, with Tinie 6️⃣ attending St. Paul's Catholic School in nearby Abbey Wood. After earning 10 GCSEs,[10] he sat A-Levels in Media Studies, Psychology, 6️⃣ and Religious Studies at Saint Francis Xavier Sixth Form College.[11][12] At twelve years old, Tinie conceived his stage name after 6️⃣ viewing the music video for So Solid Crew's "21 Seconds". He used a thesaurus in class, juxtaposing "tempah" (temper), which 6️⃣ he saw under "angry", with "tinie" (tiny), to ameliorate the aggressive sound of "tempah".[13]
Regarding his London upbringing, Tinie states, "London 6️⃣ is one of the only places in the world where you can live in a council block and see a 6️⃣ beautiful semi-detached house across the street. Growing up around that was inspirational, it kept me motivated."[1]
Career history [ edit ]
2005–2008: 6️⃣ Early career [ edit ]
Tinie, then known as Tinie Tempah,[3] began his music career in 2005 when he joined the 6️⃣ Aftershock Hooligans (Aftershock Records), recording hundreds of songs amongst the fellow Hooligans. His first mixtape, "Chapter 1: Verse 22", was 6️⃣ released via Aftershock Records in 2005, as a free mixtape. In 2006, Tinie gained a great deal of airplay on 6️⃣ British music TV channel Channel U for his song "Tears", and later on gained more recognition for "Wifey". Later in 6️⃣ the year, he collaborated on a track with grime artist Ultra and producers and songwriters Agent X. He released the 6️⃣ mixtape Hood Economics Room 147: The 80 Minute Course in 2007 and left the label later that year. When asked 6️⃣ why he left, he stated that he felt Aftershock didn't respect him as an artist and that it was time 6️⃣ to move on.
Tinie, together with his manager and cousin Dumi Oburota founded the independent label Disturbing London primarily as an 6️⃣ outlet for Tinie's music, but with the idea of also signing other young artists. According to Dumi: "We wanted to 6️⃣ have a platform to put out our music and there wasn't any Def Jam or Roc-A-Fella label equivalent in England. 6️⃣ [Also] I wanted to create a major independent label with quality artists. I felt like the major labels had lost 6️⃣ the passion for music."[14] The activities of the label were initially largely funded by student loans and the proceeds from 6️⃣ buying and selling cars.[14] Disturbing London also produce a clothing range that Tinie wears and promotes.
When scout and music consultant 6️⃣ Jade Richardson saw Tinie performing at the 2009 Wireless Festival she called Parlophone Records president Miles Leonard saying: "You've got 6️⃣ to check out this guy Tinie Tempah. He came on at lunchtime and there's about 1,000 kids screaming for him. 6️⃣ He's only put out one independent release and he's got this huge audience."[15] Leonard and A&R Nathan Thompson visited Tinie 6️⃣ and his manager Dumi at their studio a few weeks later and were hugely impressed to hear about the work 6️⃣ they had already done in developing Tinie's career and by the ambitious plans they had for his future.[15] Leonard told 6️⃣ HitQuarters: "I thought it was incredible that an artist and manager were doing so much so soon with so little... 6️⃣ That impressed as much as the music."[15] Tinie announced his signing to Parlophone in October 2009 by running a competition 6️⃣ on his blog, with the winner invited to high tea at Claridges to celebrate the deal.[16]
A major break came when 6️⃣ Sony launched its PlayStation Portable and used a track featuring Yasmin and DJ Ironik, and "Atlantic/Warner" for the futuristic Wipeout 6️⃣ Pure. This resulted in a promotional European tour alongside the likes of Sway and Dizzee Rascal.
2009–2011: Success and Disc-Overy [ 6️⃣ edit ]
Tinie released his debut single "Pass Out" through Parlophone on 28 February 2010. It entered the UK Singles Chart 6️⃣ at number 1, having sold just over 92,000 copies in its first week, and sold sufficiently well to stay at 6️⃣ the top spot for a second week. Tinie toured with Chipmunk in February 2010, going on to support Rihanna for 6️⃣ four dates in May on her 10-date UK tour with Tinchy Stryder and Pixie Lott.[17] Tinie performed at Radio 1 6️⃣ Big Weekend in Bangor on 22 May 2010 on the in New Music We Trust stage. He also toured with 6️⃣ Mr Hudson in May 2010, as well as performing at many summer balls at various universities around the United Kingdom.[citation 6️⃣ needed]
Tinie's second single "Frisky" was released on 6 June 2010, entering the UK Singles Chart at number 2. "Frisky" would 6️⃣ later be used for a 2013 Bacardi commercial advertising their new pineapple flavor. Tinie played a host of festival dates 6️⃣ throughout the summer, including the Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium on 6 June 2010, at Wakestock in Abersoch on 3 6️⃣ July 2010, both T4 on the Beach and the Wireless Festival in London's Hyde Park on 4 July, and V 6️⃣ Festival on 21 and 22 August 2010. He also had the honour of performing his first single "Pass Out" on 6️⃣ 25 June 2010 at Glastonbury on the Pyramid stage with Snoop Dogg.
Tinie released his third single "Written in the Stars" 6️⃣ on 19 September 2010. This again charted at number 1 in the UK Singles Chart, selling over 115,000 copies in 6️⃣ its first week (his biggest-selling single to date), and charting in a number of other countries. "Written in the Stars" 6️⃣ would go on to be used for a WrestleMania XXVII countdown promo during the WWE PPV Royal Rumble on 30 6️⃣ January 2011, and was later confirmed by WWE that it would be the official theme for Wrestlemania XXVII. It is 6️⃣ also the theme song for the 2011 MLB Post Season, and was used as the entrance song for the New 6️⃣ York Giants before Super Bowl XLVI.
Tinie performing at WRONGBAR in Toronto, Canada in May 2011. Touring and promotion for Disc-Overy 6️⃣ in North America pushed back the release of Tinie's second album to 2013.[18]
Tinie teamed up with Swedish House Mafia for 6️⃣ his fourth single "Miami 2 Ibiza", which was released on 1 October 2010. This reached a peak of number 4 6️⃣ in the UK Singles Chart and gave him his first number 1 in the Netherlands Mega Single Top 100 chart. 6️⃣ Tinie's long-awaited debut album Disc-Overy was then released on 4 October 2010, featuring all his previous charted singles. On 11 6️⃣ October 2010, he kicked off his first UK tour which was supported by Chiddy Bang. In the same month, he 6️⃣ was awarded his first 2 MOBO Awards. Tinie also featured on the Tinchy Stryder single "Game Over", which was released 6️⃣ on 15 November 2010 and reached number 22 on the UK Singles Chart.
On 25 December, Tinie released his fifth single 6️⃣ "Invincible" featuring Kelly Rowland, which peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. "Wonderman", featuring Ellie Goulding, was released 6️⃣ and was the sixth official single. Tinie joined Usher on the European leg of his OMG Tour in January 2011.
Tinie 6️⃣ was nominated for 4 Brit Awards making him the most nominated artist at the awards, and on 15 February 2011 6️⃣ he won his first ever Brit Award, for Best British Breakthrough Act, as well as a Brit for Best British 6️⃣ Single.[5]
On 7 March 2011, Tinie expressed his desire for his next album to go triple platinum. "I reckon in 2011, 6️⃣ towards the end of it, I'm going to do an arena tour – and sell it out – then I 6️⃣ reckon I'm going to release another album, and fingers crossed it can go platinum again, and double platinum, and triple. 6️⃣ Let's just sell a million."[19] In early 2011, Tinie announced a UK Arena tour, featuring support acts Nero, Labrinth and 6️⃣ Chase & Status (After Party DJ Set).[citation needed]
In 2011, Labrinth revealed that Tinie would be releasing "Pass Out" in the 6️⃣ United States, featuring a well recognised artist in the American rap game.[20] He also served as a front act with 6️⃣ Big Sean among others on Lupe Fiasco's Generation Lasers Tour. On 28 November 2011, Tinie hosted an episode of the 6️⃣ TV show Never Mind the Buzzcocks.[21] In the same month, Tinie would release two tracks, "Like It or Love It" 6️⃣ which featured both Wretch 32 and J. Cole, and "Lucky Cunt" which featured Big Sean. On 16 December, Tinie released 6️⃣ a 9-track mixtape/EP titled Happy Birthday, which went on to win best EP of 2011 at the Official Mixtape Awards 6️⃣ 2012. In early 2012, Tinie featured with Eric Turner and Lupe Fiasco on a track called "Angels and Stars".
2012–2014: Demonstration 6️⃣ [ edit ]
Tinie in 2014
By December 2010, Tinie was writing a second album,[22] saying there would be a more electronic 6️⃣ and live feel to it. It was originally intended for a late 2011 release.[18][23] During an interview, Tinie said of 6️⃣ his second album: "I always like to work with different people on each project I do, just so you get 6️⃣ a different sound and angle. I will be working with some of the same people I did for the first 6️⃣ album, you know what they say 'if it ain't broke then don't try and fix it'."[24] Tinie had hoped to 6️⃣ collaborate with other artists such as Toronto's Drake, and Adele. At the Brit Awards in 2012, he announced that his 6️⃣ second album would be called Demonstration.[25] On 24 June 2012, Tinie performed at Radio 1's Hackney Weekend on the main 6️⃣ stage, playing two of his newest songs: "Mosh Pit", and "Drinking from the Bottle", on which he features alongside Calvin 6️⃣ Harris as lead artist and which also appears on Harris' new album 18 Months. On 12 August, Tinie performed at 6️⃣ the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.[citation needed]
The lead single from Demonstration, "Trampoline", was premiered on MistaJam's 6️⃣ BBC Radio 1Xtra show on 2 July 2013, and the lyric video was premiered shortly afterwards.[26] It features 2 Chainz 6️⃣ and was produced by Diplo, and was released on 4 August 2013 in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 3 6️⃣ in the UK Singles Chart. In the interview with MistaJam, Tinie cites Dizzee Rascal and So Solid Crew as influences 6️⃣ for the album, who've influenced him since his childhood. In interviews, Tinie and other artists have announced that they were 6️⃣ working together on his album such as Labrinth, Dizzee Rascal, Ellie Goulding, Big Sean and Emeli Sandé.
The next single from 6️⃣ the album, "Children of the Sun", featuring John Martin, was produced by iSHi and was premiered on Zane Lowe's BBC 6️⃣ Radio 1 show on 12 September. It was released on 28 October in the United Kingdom and charted at number 6️⃣ 6 in the UK. On 16 September, to promote his forthcoming UK arena tour, the album track "Don't Sell Out" 6️⃣ live at the O2 Arena was uploaded to O2's YouTube channel.[27] Tinie performed at Keele University on 8 October in 6️⃣ a surprise event. On 19 October 2013, Tinie was awarded "Best UK Hip Hop/Grime Act" at the MOBO Awards' 18th 6️⃣ Anniversary.[28]
The album, Demonstration, was released on 4 November 2013,[29] entering the UK Albums Chart at number three. Demonstration also debuted 6️⃣ at number twenty-two on the Australian album charts and number forty on the New Zealand album charts. Tinie announced a 6️⃣ third single, featuring Labrinth, entitled "Lover Not A Fighter", to be released in February 2014. In April, Tinie released the 6️⃣ music video to Demonstration's fourth single, "5 Minutes". The song was produced by BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe, and 6️⃣ was engineered by Rob Swire.[30]
Tinie features on a vocal remix of the 2013 DVBBS and Borgeous instrumental EDM hit "Tsunami", 6️⃣ retitled "Tsunami (Jump)", which was released through Ministry of Sound in 2014 and topped the UK Singles Chart.[31] Tinie also 6️⃣ features on Cheryl Cole's comeback track "Crazy Stupid Love", which went straight to Number 1, giving him his fifth Number 6️⃣ 1 single. Tinie followed Cole to the judges' houses on The X Factor airing in October the same year. During 6️⃣ his stint in Dunedin for the University of Otago Orientation Week, Tinie performed both on the stage and in the 6️⃣ bedroom at a Castle Street flat.[32]
2024–present: Youth, television and new music [ edit ]
On 21 June 2024, Tinie released the 6️⃣ first single from his upcoming third studio album, "Not Letting Go", which features fellow British artist Jess Glynne. To promote 6️⃣ the single, he performed it with Sasha Keable on The Graham Norton Show on 19 June as Glynne was unavailable 6️⃣ due to her having vocal surgery shortly before. The single charted at number 1 in the UK on 28 June 6️⃣ 2024, gifting Tinie his sixth number one single.[7] However, on the week of 23 October 2024, Tinie earned his seventh 6️⃣ UK number one single with "Turn the Music Louder (Rumble)", a song by KDA, which also features English singer-songwriter Katy 6️⃣ B. In December 2024, Tinie released the mixtape Junk Food, with collaborations from a large number of British artists. "Girls 6️⃣ Like" featuring Zara Larsson was the second single from Youth, released in May 2024. The single peaked at number five 6️⃣ on the UK Official Charts, later being certified Platinum.[33]
"Text from Your Ex" featuring Tinashe was the third single released from 6️⃣ Youth, charting at number 23 on the UK Official Charts. The album was released on 14 April 2024 by Parlophone 6️⃣ and Disturbing London Records.[33] The album debuted at number 9 on the UK Official Charts, gifting Tinie his third top 6️⃣ ten album.[34] The album would exit the UK Albums Chart after three weeks.
In a 2024 episode of The Big Narstie 6️⃣ Show, Tinie Tempah changed his stage name to Tinie.[3]
In September 2024, Tempah released the single “Love Me Like This” featuring 6️⃣ vocalist Maia Wright.[35] The track interpolates “Do You Really Like It?” as performed by DJ Pied Piper and the Masters 6️⃣ of Ceremonies.[36] On 12 May 2024, Tempah released the single "How You Samba" alongside Kris Kross Amsterdam and Mexican singer 6️⃣ Sofía Reyes.[37]
Disturbing London [ edit ]
In 2006, Tinie founded the independent record label Disturbing London.[38]
Other [ edit ]
Tinie is also 6️⃣ a prominent figure in modern British fashion.[39] In 2012, he was named best dressed man in GQ's Men of the 6️⃣ Year Awards.
In 2024, he was chosen as the new men ambassador for London Menswear Collections, replacing Nick Grimshaw,[40] and was 6️⃣ named one of GQ's 50 best dressed British men.[41] In October 2024, Tinie became a team captain for Sky 1's 6️⃣ music/comedy panel show Bring the Noise alongside pop star Nicole Scherzinger.
In 2024, he appeared on the British programme Top Gear, 6️⃣ along with Seasick Steve and Sharleen Spiteri in a South African SUV challenge. In 2024 he launched his fashion label 6️⃣ What We Wear at London Fashion Week Men's and streamed the show on YouTube.[42] Same year, Tinie welcomed guests at 6️⃣ his pop-up store launch at the Protein Studio in Shoreditch, London.[43]
In 2024, Tempah appeared in a Channel 4 documentary The 6️⃣ Talk which aired on 4 August 2024. The documentary, produced by Whisper TV, is about Black Britons sharing their experiences 6️⃣ of the conversations parents have to help their children face racism. The documentary also featured Emeli Sande, Rochelle and Marvin 6️⃣ Humes, Ade Adepitan, Ashley and Jordan Banjo, Gary Younge, Lennie James and more.
In October 2024, Tempah presented the four-part Channel 6️⃣ Four documentary Outrageous (Extraordinary) Extensions.[44]
In 2024 he presented the BBC Arts series Extraordinary Portraits which explores the art of portrait 6️⃣ making and portraiture’s ability to communicate without words.[45]
In 2024, Tempah co-presented with Naomi Schiff the four-part Channel 4 motoring series 6️⃣ Bangers: Mad for Cars.[46]
Personal life [ edit ]
Tinie is a Catholic. He said: "I definitely believe in God. I pray 6️⃣ as much as possible. I think it's imperative to have faith or religion, because it's good to have morals, to 6️⃣ be kind to others".[47]
In Cirencester on 4 July 2024 he married Eve De Haan, daughter of Sir Roger De Haan, 6️⃣ former owner of Saga plc, and Mauritian-born Marie Lyvie Goder.[48] They have two daughters, born in 2024 and 2024.[49]
Tinie is 6️⃣ 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 6️⃣ the sport.[53] In 2024, he won the English BJJ Open in the Master 1 blue belt lightweight division.[54]
Discography [ edit 6️⃣ ]
Studio albums
Concert tours [ edit ]
Main act
Supporting act
Awards and nominations [ edit ]
