Tinie Tempah

British rapper and singer Tinie Tempah scored two No. 1 hits with his blockbuster 2010 debut album, Disc-Overy. The genre-blurring artist has since remained a UK chart fixture and collaborated with the biggest names in pop, hip-hop and electronic music. • Born in London to Nigerian immigrants, Tinie was inspired to make music by the UK hip-hop group So Solid Crew. • At age 12, he flipped through a thesaurus and came upon “temper” as a word meaning “angry”. He put “tiny” in front to seem less aggressive. The name stuck. • As a teenager, he joined the grime crew Aftershock Hooligans and released his first official project, Chapter 1: Verse 22, in 2005. The following year, his song “Wifey” became popular on the British music TV channel Channel U. • In 2007, Tinie released Hood Economics Room 147 on his own Disturbing London label. He signed to Parlophone in 2009 after being discovered at that year’s Wireless Festival. • His 2010 debut single, “Pass Out”, debuted at No. 1 on the UK charts. His follow-ups “Frisky” and “Written in the Stars” reached No. 2 and No. 1, respectively. All three tracks appear on his debut album, Disc-Overy, which topped the UK charts and earned a Mercury Prize nomination. • The rapper notched a third UK No. 1 hit in 2012, when he guested on Rita Ora’s “R.I.P.” • Tinie’s 2013 sophomore studio album, Demonstration, spawned two more Top 10 UK hits: “Trampoline” (featuring 2 Chainz) and “Children of the Sun” (featuring John Martin). • His third album, 2017’s Youth, includes the No. 1 single “Not Letting Go”, featuring British singer Jess Glynne. • He added three more No. 1 hits to his tally by guesting on DVBBS and Borgeous’ “Tsunami (Jump)” in 2014, Cheryl Cole’s “Crazy Stupid Love” in 2014, and KDA’s “Turn the Music Louder (Rumble)” in 2015.