“De Nigeriaanse Brit zette zijn beste feestmuts op, beklom het Marquee-podium – zijn met diamanten bezette microfoon kordaat in de hand – en slaagde glansrijk in zijn missiestatement: Kiewit omvormen tot Miami dan wel Ibiza.” (HUMO, *** Pukkelpop ‘12)

In early 2010, spring-chicken Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu debuted in the British hitlists with the single ‘Pass Out’, forefunner to a first longplayer ‘Disc-Overy’, and by the summer he already had a support tour with Rihanna and a Glastonbury-concert with Snoop Dogg behind him. That was only the beginning… His collaboration with Swedish House Maffia ‘Miami 2 Ibiza’ shot Tinie Tempah in the direction of stardom and his debut album provided him with two Brit Awards (Best Single ‘Pass Out’ & Best Breakthrough Award), a Mercury Prize nomination and double-platinum sales.

Tempah got to work with a whole list of top producers last year - Naughty Boy, Chase & Status, Diplo, Alex Da Kid, Labrinth, … - and a series of guests that really captures the imagination – Laura Mvula, Ella Eyre, Emeli Sandé, Big Sean, Wiz Khalifa and 2 Chainz – to prepare the album ‘Demonstration’. The result of all that hard work has been available in stores since November ’13 and first single ‘Trampoline’ brought many a fan to unknown heights. Even Britain's Prince William lets himself go to Tinie’s beats!

Tempah himself? He still calmly has his sneakers on the ground… “I don’t ‘become’ Tinie, it’s not like an alter-ego thing when I stick on my shades. Tinie is Patrick and Patrick is Tinie; what you see is what you get.” If we're able to believe the Humo review of his vist to Pukkelpop in ’12, then Tinie Tempah in concert is certainly a sight to see: “Wonderman’ (z’n duet met Ellie Goulding) deed de vloer daveren. ‘Illusion’ toonde netjes aan dat Tinie wel zijn weg weet met enkele aardige rhymes. En ‘Drinking from the Bottle’ (uit de koker van Calvin Harris) was een even platte als leuke feestschijf. Netjes.”