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Tempah true to hip-hop roots
Tempah true to hip-hop roots

With album No. 2 finally on shelves, mainstream hip-hop phenomenon Tinie Tempah has plenty to be excited about.

Besieged by delays and false starts, Demonstration is a confident step up from awkwardly named but chart-topping debut Disc-Overy.

The album sees the UK rapper concentrate as much on the street-smart rhyme and grime that is his forte as he does on anthemic fluff.

"Demonstration is definitely more a body of work," the charismatic and enthusiastic Londoner says.

"I was more conscious about making an album - the first time around I was more making songs and one (2010 debut single Pass Out) ended up connecting with everyone and it was a rush to get the rest of the album ready.

"Sonically you hear a big variety of different styles of music, very London-centric in that approach where you never know what you're going to hear from indie to hip-hop to dubstep."

"I'm always trying to get the right balance, trying to make sure my music nods to where I've come from and all the influences that make me who I am.

"So as much as you hear bigger songs, you hear a really urban and grimy edge as well. I like my albums to have half-and-half of each."

Demonstration sees Tempah work with big-name producers Diplo (the single Trampoline), the Chemical Brothers' Tom Rowlands and Chase & Status, as well as US rapper 2 Chainz and childhood hero Dizzee Rascal who appears on the stomping Mosh Pit.

"I started listening to Dizzee Rascal when I was 12 years old," the rapper says.

"That was one of the most significant things, just how long he's been around and how relevant he is for my life. The way he attacked that beat was very reminiscent of early Dizzee and it was amazing to be able to get him like that on the record. It isn't your obvious No. 1 single, it's grimy and strictly for the street."

Tracks such as Mosh Pit probably won't sell the album, but they make the manufactured hits in the making worth getting through. Second single Children of the Sun featuring John Martin - best known for his vocals on Swedish House Mafia's Don't You Worry Child and Save the World - is the worst offender.

Then there's the string of big vocal numbers closing the album. The best of these, Heroes, features inimitable English soul singer Laura Mvula.

"Her album Sing to the Moon is one of my favourite things this year and now it's starting to get the recognition it deserves," Tempah says.

"She helped me take that song to the level. To me it sounds as epic as a Bond theme.

"You can still see the ambition in some of the bigger songs I'm trying to make because I want to be as big in the market as I can and I want to appeal to as many people as I can."

Things weren't always so good for the man born Patrick Okogwu to Nigerian parents who had moved to the UK only a few years earlier.

He braved a working-class upbringing as trying as any, evidenced by lyrics referencing his youth in council projects.

"Mama, look we made it out the flats we was living in," he sings on Someday (Place in the Sun), which opens Demonstration.

Tempah's personal history makes his take on hip-hop's constant braggadocio well-earned and he doesn't shirk being an inspirational figure when discussing exactly how tough it was.

"I would say as hard as anyone else who's come from a working- class background. My parents came from Nigeria in their early 20s and had family that lived here and wanted to give their children more opportunity than they had.

They had to work for everything, living in government and council accommodation. I saw my parents study and continue to work several jobs.

"It was being able to see that and the determination of my parents that instilled a lot in me. It's fair to say I've been able to experience the best of both extremities - which is like a lot of people.

"For the most part, people have a bit of both - a bit of good and bad and those are the people I speak for."

Returning for next year's Future Music Festival along with some of his collaborators on Demonstration, Tempah looks forward to presenting a new show.

"Hopefully this time we'll come over with a band which we didn't last time," he says. "I can't wait for you to see it."