Career
In 2005, he released his first mixtape, ‘Chapter 1: Verse 22,’ through ‘Aftershock Records.’ His songs ‘Tears’ and ‘Wifey’ gained popularity on the music TV channel ‘Channel AKA.’
Working with his cousin and manager, Dumi Oburota, he launched his own label, ‘Disturbing London Records,’ in 2008. Apart from releasing Tempah’s music, they also planned to record with other artistes. Initially, they funded the label by car deals and student loans.
In 2009, he signed a deal with ‘Parlophone Records,’ a subsidiary of ‘Warner Music Group.’ He released his debut single, ‘Pass Out,’ in February 2010. It was produced by Labrinth who also featured in the single. The song topped the ‘UK Singles Chart’ and sold over 92 thousand copies in the first week.
On a promotional European tour for the launch of ‘Sony’s ‘PlayStation Portable,’ he traveled around with noted artistes and performed with ‘Sway’ and ‘Dizzee Rascal.’ In February 2010, he toured with rapper Chipmunk and later performed with Rihanna during her UK tour in May. He also performed at various UK university summer balls.
Tempah’s second single, ‘Frisky,’ was released in June 2010 and reached the second spot on the ‘UK Singles Chart.’ His third single, ‘Written in the Stars,’ featuring Eric Turner, was released on September 19, 2010. The track made it to the number one spot on the ‘UK Singles Chart’ and the 12th spot on the ‘Billboard Hot 100,’ bringing him international success. This proved to be his highest-selling single, with 115 thousand copies, sold in the first week. This number became a theme song for a number of game events. His fourth single, ‘Miami 2 Ibiza,’ was recorded in collaboration with ‘Swedish House Mafia’ and was released in October 2010.
His much-awaited debut album, ‘Disc-Overy,’ which included all his previous charted singles, was released on October 4, 2010. It attained the number one position in the UK and was certified “double platinum” by the ‘British Phonographic Industry.’ He toured the country immediately after the release of the album. He received his first two ‘MOBO Awards’ after the release of this album.
A number of other singles from the album ‘Disc-Overy,’ such as ‘Simply Unstoppable’; ‘Invincible,’ featuring Kelly Rowland; ‘Wonderman,’ featuring Ellie Goulding; and ‘Till I’m Gone,’ featuring Wiz Khalifa, were released subsequently. He performed with Usher during the European leg of the ‘OMG Tour’ in January 2011.
With four nominations, Tempah was the most-nominated artiste at the 2011 ‘Brit Awards.’ He won a ‘Brit Award’ for the ‘Best British Breakthrough Act’ and another for the ‘Best British Single.’ He performed at the closing ceremony of the 2012 ‘Summer Olympics’ in London, with Taio Cruz and Jessie J.
The single ‘Trampoline’ from his next album, ‘Demonstration,’ premiered on a radio show on July 2, 2013. This single, featuring 2Chainz and produced by Diplo, debuted at the third spot on the ‘UK Singles Chart.’ The next single, ‘Children of the Sun,’ featuring John Martin, was released on September 12, 2013.
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Tempah’s second album, ‘Demonstration,’ was officially released on November 4, 2013. It was featured at the third spot on the ‘UK Albums Chart.’ It was certified “gold,” too. However, it could not attain the tremendous popularity of his debut album.
In 2014, he released singles such as ‘Lover Not A Fighter,’ featuring Labrinth, and ‘5 Minutes,’ produced by ‘BBC Radio.’ He featured with Cheryl Cole in ‘Crazy Stupid Love,’ which was number one on the ‘UK Singles Chart.’
In 2015, Tempah released the first single from his next album, ‘Youth.’ The number ‘Not Letting Go,’ featuring Jess Glynne, aced the UK charts. The second single, ‘Girls Like,’ which was released in May 2016, featured Zara Larsson and reached the fifth spot on the ‘UK Official Chart.’ It was certified “platinum” In the UK. The third single from the album, ‘Text from Your Ex,’ featured Tinashe.
He scored his seventh UK number one single in October 2015, when he released ‘Turn the Music Louder,’ featuring Katy B. In April 2017, his third album, ‘Youth,’ was released by ‘Parlophone’ and ‘Disturbing London Records.’ The album reached number nine on the ‘UK Official Chart.’ Thus, all of Tempah’s three albums became “top ten” hits.
Tempah is a well-known name in the fashion industry, too. In 2012, he was named the best dressed man at ‘GQ’s ‘Men of The Year Awards.’ He owns the fashion label ‘What We Wear,’ which was launched in 2017.
