Tinie Tempah

Two things reminded me to write this post: Seeing 'Hood Economics Room 147' in HMV whilst I was waiting to go get fitted for my wedding suit and the fact that my brother is going to Milton Keynes to see Jay-Z et al tomorrow afternoon.

Tinie Tempah has one impressive resume, for anyone, let alone for someone of his age. Often, press releases are full of tenuous details of collaborations and scraped together accolades but Tempah's is a different story. First thing is he's 19, he's got a track on a PSP game, he's toured with Sway and Dizzee. He made his video for 'Wifey' whilst studying for his A-Levels (you hear that kids?)3 A-Levels that is and is now considering applying to go to University (gasp). He has a full album/audio scrapbook on the shelves (see opening paragraph) and has been played on 1Xtra, Kiss and has been reviewed by the New York press.

More impressively he was chosen to record an anti-gun/knife crime track which led to him being featured on ITN, BBC and Sky reports about the recent spate/media obsession with street crime. Then there's the small matter of him supporting Jay-Z at the O2 festival this year...

'Tears', featuring Cleo Soul, is the single from 'Hood Economics Room 147'. It fuses Dance, Grime and Hip Hop effortlessly and is truly cutting edge. It's another example of the maturation of the more youthful of the so-called 'Urban' genres. Despite being a young 'un, Tinie has a very grown-up approach to both his music and the subjects he tackles. 'Tears' focusses on failing relationships and gives an insight into the British tendency to hide emotion. The production, by Davinche, is heartfelt and Ms. Soul brings that club vibe to this surprisingly up tempo lament.

'Tears' is released digitally on 4th August and is available physically on 18th August.