Tinie Tempah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tinie Tempah
Tinie Tempah in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu
Born	(1988-11-07) 7 November 1988 (age 36) Plumstead, London, England
Genres	Hip hop electronic dance-pop UK rap
Occupation(s)	Rapper singer songwriter television presenter
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Parlophone Disturbing London

Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu (born 7 November 1988), known as Tinie (and formerly Tinie Tempah), is a British rapper and singer. He signed with Parlophone in 2009. This company is now part of Warner Music Group. In 2006, he started his own entertainment company, Disturbing London, with his cousin Dumi Oburota.

After releasing several mixtapes, Tinie released his first album, Disc-Overy, in October 2010. Before this, two of his songs, "Pass Out" and "Written in the Stars", became number-one hits in Britain. The album itself reached 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.

In November 2013, he released his second album, Demonstration. Songs like "Trampoline" and "Children of the Sun" were top ten hits before the album came out. The album reached number three and was certified gold. In June 2015, he released "Not Letting Go", the first song from his third album, Youth. This song became Tinie's sixth UK number one hit. This meant he had more number-one songs than any other UK rap artist, passing Dizzee Rascal.

Early Life and Education

Tinie was born Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu on 7 November 1988 in London. His parents are from Nigeria and are part of the Igbo group. His middle name, Chukwuemeka, means "God has done more" in the Igbo language.

Until he was twelve, Tinie lived in south-east London with his parents and three younger siblings. Later, his family moved to Plumstead. Tinie went to St. Paul's Catholic School. He earned 10 GCSEs. He then studied Media Studies, Psychology, and Religious Studies at Saint Francis Xavier Sixth Form College.

When he was twelve, Tinie came up with his stage name. He used a thesaurus in class. He combined "tinie" (meaning tiny) with "tempah" (from temper, meaning angry). He wanted to make the name sound less aggressive.

Tinie has said that growing up in London was inspiring. He saw both council homes and beautiful houses. This kept him motivated.

Music Career Highlights

Starting Out (2005–2008)

Tinie began his music journey in 2005. He joined a group called Aftershock Hooligans. He recorded many songs with them. His first mixtape, "Chapter 1: Verse 22", came out in 2005 for free.

In 2006, Tinie's songs "Tears" and "Wifey" were played a lot on British music TV. He also worked with other artists and producers. In 2007, he released another mixtape called Hood Economics Room 147: The 80 Minute Course. He left Aftershock Records that year because he felt they didn't respect him.

Tinie and his cousin Dumi Oburota started their own record label, Disturbing London. They wanted a place to release Tinie's music. They also hoped to sign other young artists. They funded the label by using student loans and buying and selling cars. Disturbing London also makes clothes that Tinie wears.

In 2009, a music scout saw Tinie perform at the Wireless Festival. She was very impressed by how many fans he had. Soon after, Tinie signed with Parlophone Records. He announced this by inviting a fan to a special tea party.

Big Success with Disc-Overy (2009–2011)

Tinie released his first official single, "Pass Out", on 28 February 2010. It quickly reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. It stayed there for two weeks. Tinie then toured with other artists like Chipmunk and supported Rihanna on her UK tour.

His second single, "Frisky", came out on 6 June 2010 and reached number 2. Tinie performed at many big festivals that summer. He even performed "Pass Out" with Snoop Dogg at Glastonbury.

Tinie's third single, "Written in the Stars", was released on 19 September 2010. It also hit number 1 in the UK. This song was used for WrestleMania XXVII and as a theme song for the MLB Post Season.

Tinie performing in Toronto, Canada in May 2011.

He then worked with Swedish House Mafia on "Miami 2 Ibiza". This song reached number 4 in the UK and number 1 in the Netherlands. Tinie's first album, Disc-Overy, came out on 4 October 2010. It included all his hit singles. He also won two MOBO Awards that month.

In December, Tinie released "Invincible" with Kelly Rowland. Another single, "Wonderman", featured Ellie Goulding. Tinie joined Usher on his European tour in 2011.

Tinie was nominated for four Brit Awards in 2011. He won two: Best British Breakthrough Act and Best British Single. He later announced a UK arena tour.

In 2011, Tinie also hosted an episode of the TV show Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He released a mixtape/EP called Happy Birthday, which won Best EP of 2011.

Demonstration Album (2012–2014)

Tinie in 2014

By December 2010, Tinie was already working on his second album. He wanted it to have more electronic and live sounds. He hoped to work with artists like Drake and Adele. At the Brit Awards in 2012, he announced the album would be called Demonstration.

On 12 August 2012, Tinie performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

The first single from Demonstration was "Trampoline", featuring 2 Chainz. It was released on 4 August 2013 and reached number 3 in the UK. Tinie said that Dizzee Rascal and So Solid Crew influenced this album. He also worked with artists like Labrinth, Ellie Goulding, and Big Sean.

The next single, "Children of the Sun", featuring John Martin, came out on 28 October and charted at number 6.

The album, Demonstration, was released on 4 November 2013. It entered the UK Albums Chart at number three. Tinie then released "Lover Not A Fighter" with Labrinth and "5 Minutes".

Tinie also featured on the song "Tsunami (Jump)" by DVBBS and Borgeous, which topped the UK Singles Chart. He also appeared on Cheryl Cole's song "Crazy Stupid Love", which went straight to number 1. This gave him his fifth number 1 single.

Youth and Recent Music (2015–Present)

On 21 June 2015, Tinie released "Not Letting Go", the first single from his third album, Youth. It featured Jess Glynne. This song became Tinie's sixth number one single in the UK. In October 2015, he earned his seventh UK number one with "Turn the Music Louder (Rumble)" by KDA, which also featured Katy B.

In December 2015, Tinie released a mixtape called Junk Food. "Girls Like" featuring Zara Larsson was the second single from Youth. It reached number five and was certified Platinum.

"Text from Your Ex" featuring Tinashe was the third single from Youth. The album was released on 14 April 2017. It debuted at number 9 on the UK Official Charts.

In 2020, Tinie Tempah changed his stage name to just Tinie.

In September 2021, Tinie released "Love Me Like This" with Maia Wright. In May 2023, he released "How You Samba" with Kris Kross Amsterdam and Sofía Reyes.

Disturbing London

In 2006, Tinie founded his own independent record label, Disturbing London.

Other Projects

Tinie is also known for his interest in fashion. In 2012, he was named best dressed man at GQ's Men of the Year Awards.

In 2015, he became an ambassador for London Menswear Collections. He was also named one of GQ's 50 best dressed British men. In October 2015, Tinie became a team captain on the TV show Bring the Noise.

In 2016, he appeared on the TV show Top Gear. In 2017, he launched his own fashion label, What We Wear.

In 2020, Tinie appeared in a Channel 4 documentary called The Talk. This film was about Black Britons sharing their experiences with racism. In 2021, he presented the documentary Outrageous Extraordinary Extensions. In 2022, he presented the BBC Arts series Extraordinary Portraits. In 2023, Tinie co-presented the motoring series Bangers: Mad for Cars on Channel 4.

Discography

Studio albums

• Disc-Overy (2010)
• Demonstration (2013)
• Youth (2017)

Concert Tours

Main act

• The Disc-Overy Tour (2011)
• Demonstration Tour (2014)
• Youth World Tour (2017)

Supporting act

• Rihanna – Last Girl on Earth Tour – United Kingdom Leg (2010)
• Usher – OMG Tour – European Leg (2011)
• The Script – No Sound Without Silence Tour – European Leg (2015)

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Tinie Tempah para niños