Tinie Tempah has left the building
M_T_Wallet asks:
Any work with Lady Leshurr planned?
Guardian contributor I actually worked with Lady Leshurr in 2009! I worked with her for ages - she's come to my studio heaps of times. She's a great talent. She was a female MC from Birmingham - in 2009, it was so hard for her to get into the mainstream. Me, Leshurr, and Dank the Ripper, on my mixtape Sexy Beast inspired by the film. I've done it! Someone challenge me to something else - what's going on with apps? Try and do something with Sade? When are we going to see you sign new talent?
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EuanMcL2910 asks:
What was it like collaborating with Bugzy Malone on So Close? Very good track by the way.
Guardian contributor It was really good. For me, he's one of the most exciting British talents recently, who's done great things independent. I'm a great advocate of him, because he's from Manchester, not London. I remember how hard it was as a south London MC, when east London was the place to me; I can only imagine how hard it is when you're not in London. He's done that. We made a song prior to this called Peak, with Stormzy, which has over 2million views on YouTube with no promotion, nothing. I even feel like that was overlooked. Because while I was making this album, I would make a tune and it would need to be released in a different clever way - that song clocked up millions, so I wanted to put Bugzy Malone on my album on a song about losing a close friend, what all of us has experienced through life, where you move on and get a new job and you end up not speaking to someone. And offer a platform to him, expose him to my own fanbase. There's a lot more to hear from him.
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montyburns56 asks:
I really like Not Letting Go and I was wondering if you had middle-aged white men like me in mind when you wrote it?
Guardian contributor Of course - I had middle-aged white men, everybody in mind. Not Letting Go is about two things: before Not Letting Go the vibe I felt was that: could he do it again? At that time I also fell deeply in love with someone, in love for the first time - this was real love. Not Letting Go has a double meaning, in the sense that: I'm not letting go of the music industry, whatever you guys think, "you make me stronger", that's me and Jess talking about the music industry. And we came back with a number one. But people were wondering: is he here to stay, is he flash in the pan? So I wrote a song that I could dedicate to someone I love, but also reference my place in the British music industry. A lot of songs on Youth have that double meaning.
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Khalid Soussi asks:
Why did you grow a beard? To look macho or because it’s in vogue?
Guardian contributor Why are those your only two options?? The reason why I grow a beard is because I have follicles that come out of my face, after I reached puberty. At school they said I couldn't have one; when I was 21, maybe it wasn't the thing even then. But now, I think it makes me think I'm even more handsome than I am. I'm also quite a spiritual person and I believe that there's a power in keeping your hair, there's different cultures like Rasta culture that when you dread your hair, you're keeping your energy in my tying it. Then when somebody dies or there's a tragedy in life, that's when you cut your hair, and you start again. Or in Christian or Islamic culture, a beard was about keeping your power. I believe in power in hair. Not to look macho or be in vogue.
British credible musicians aren't just rappers, they're everywhere. Sade, Kate Bush … we piss and shit that out! That's what we do!
Goldendays49 asks:
Do you feel guilty for out-performing Sir Paul McCartney at the Olympic Opening Ceremony in 2012?
Guardian contributor No. I don't feel guilty. I have no remorse.
It goes back to the last question - that's all of our biggest British talent. Fatboy Slim, Queen, The Beatles, these are credible British iconic musicians - our credible musicians aren't just rappers, they're everywhere. Sade, Kate Bush... we piss and shit that out! That's what we do! At the Olympics, I just remember being around legends, even Dizzee Rascal who is legendary in his respect. There's rock guys, the Spice Girls, a dance DJ... that's British music, isn't it? I remember being nervous as hell, thinking: please don't fuck up. They were like: you have three minutes and 8 seconds. I knew I just couldn't fuck up.
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noirnoirnoir asks:
Is it true that you purchased a bungalow in Penge just to store trainers in?
Guardian contributor
ChrisAlexander asks:
What do you say to the critics that say that you are not really a rapper but more a clothes horse, or that you have forgotten your roots and make watered-down music for the masses, while avoiding the true essence of hip hop/rap – freestyle get or responding to ‘beef’ Chip for example?
Guardian contributor Actually, this is a controversial question. I didn't want to answer it but I think I should. I would say to critics, one, a rapper and a clothes horse, fashion is art, I've made my own clothing line - Disturbing London stuff in Selfridges five years ago, or What We Wear at London Fashion Week now. If I was trying to get loads of free clothes, I'd understand what you're saying, but I've embraced the art of it. As for my roots, and making music for the masses... I would say on this new album, I've always stuck to my roots. When you become an artist with commercial success, your biggest records have more awareness than your smaller, more underground work. For every album that I've released I've always made mixtapes, EPs, continued to collaborate with my peers be they British or American, I've always tried to make free music. However, watered down music? It's such an easy statement to say. How do you define that? I definitely feel like... I guess someone is trying to impose rules on me, but I think you should be able to make the music you want. Coming out as a South London MC - I'm just some kid, who got a record deal with Parlophone. I should be able to make any music I like. Like Miami to Ibiza - being from London, house music and music from other styles is part of our culture. If I was in America, it might be different - if I was in Atlanta or New York, the essence of street music is a certain thing. But in London, underground music is our music.
Also before, ten years ago when rappers like myself were making music but couldn't get on mainstream radio or television, or mainstream media, to be able to work with a well known British artist, like Rod Stewart, or Ed Sheeran... a big white popular musician, for us that was almost a way of showing people how big you were. Our music wasn't going in the charts - there was no platform. So when you do a remix or a feature for someone like Mike Skinner, when you go back to the hood, people are like rah! He's on his way! He's got a song with Elton John, or Elton has cleared a sample for him. It was a way to show how big you were. You couldn't sell albums or a number one single, or be nominated for big awards. The only way of showing how successful you were, apart from MCing, was to collaborate with other artists from other worlds. I can't think of any MC that's come from London who is known or big, who hasn't done that.
What I feel has happened... I'm 28 now, but when I was 16, England was a lot more segregated, black is black, Nigerian is Nigerian, white is white. This new generation though, I can hear a Ghanaian rapping with Nigerian colloquialisms, or a white boy doing a dab and it making sense. There's a more universal culture meshed into one. My Turkish brother, I'll eat kebabs with you, and you'll eat jollof rice with me. I like how your rosary looks, so I'll wear it. There's a lot more of that. That's happened naturally through evolution. Before to get the attention of people from Middle England, you had to be around someone who attracted that demographic - but now we've created a cottage industry. That image of a hoodie ten years ago, that image has changed - it's just a london street kid. And now you can see Americans wearing them to look like a London street kid! There's more things around now, than Downton Abbey. People are embracing that more. But it's important to realise the difference between us and our American counterparts. We have an Asian underground here. House music, folk music, electronic music - these are underground things from the UK that we should be proud of. And experiment with. It shouldn't sound like it's from America.
Kieran7797 asks:
What happened to your song Bounce? I fell in love with it and was waiting for the release date that never came. Bonus track on Youth maybe?
Guardian contributor Tell me about it! It's one of my favourite songs. But some of the people I worked with didn't feel like it deserved to be on Youth, over some of the other tracks. I still beg to differ - maybe if we start a little petition, get something trending, I'll see what I can do.
Leo_torat asks:
What’s your favourite food?
Guardian contributor I'm gonna say: rice, beans, plantain, a red tomato stew. Then beef or chicken. And then I'm a big fan of brunch - you can make eggs any which way, the more exciting the better! The more flavours you put in, the better.
themattgage asks:
On YouthTube channel, it seems you recorded Youth in different places around the world. Where was your favourite place to record?
Guardian contributor I would probably say Ibiza, the reason is we recorded in four different cities: Amsterdam, LA, Stockholm and Ibiza, plus London. When we got to LA, because of the time difference, everyone was jetlagged, so we were screwed! It took four days to get into it, lots of people hadn't been to LA, like my engineer, like Nana Rhodes... but everyone was knocked out. But Ibiza was on the same timezone as the UK, but with the LA weather, and there's that hippy hedonistic freedom you have on the island, we rented a little car, there's all the amenities that Ibiza has to offer for inspiration... apart from having to do shows in between, I don't know what more I could have wanted.
London still resonates with me the most – it was the biggest influence on Youth
Reelika asks:
What or whom would you say was your biggest inspiration for writing this album?
Guardian contributor I would say London. Mainly because of the fact that through music I've been able to tour the world, but when I come back, London still resonates me the most, it's given me the most opportunity. And not to be London-biased, it's an exciting place for music in general at the moment. I think the weather is shit, but the diversity, the culture, the mixture of cultures, how liberal everyone seems to be and how open-minded... and how many venues and institutions we have for music and the arts in London, from Camden to Shoreditch to Soho.
I would say music wise that inspired me was grime, urban music. In England, there's a council estate culture, the have nots, the uninvited, and obviously something starts from there - an art frenzy or a music rebellion, that's what happens in environments like that, and that's being accepted on a mainstream level, and when I was growing up, I never thought it would.
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I put Youth together with a linear narrative and storyline in mind, from my past to my present
peterfrank_asks:
First of all, love the album. Good things come to those who wait. My main question is how do you decide track order on something like this. The album is a great listen through and takes you on a journey. Do you think some people these days miss out on this in the age of streaming etc?
Guardian contributor Yeah, I think an album is defintely something that should be cherished and digested from start to end. When it came to deciding the track order, I wnated it to be a linear story, so I kind of started the album just as I was about to move out from my mum's house, and Pass Out was about to take off, and before the last song there's a song called Shadows, and that's where I end up in Alexander McQueen's house, not this LA destination, this La La Land where everyone thinks you should end up. Or this place with loads of money and cars. Still successful, but very much here. I feel like that's how it ends. I put it together with a linear narrative and storyline in mind, from my past to my present.
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OleksandrOK asks:
Some singers combine different music styles. Should artists stick to one genre?
Guardian contributor
Tinie Tempah is in the building
Post your questions for Tinie Tempah
Since going from a childhood in south London’s notorious Aylesbury Estate to the top of the charts with Pass Out in 2010, Tinie Tempah has become one of the UK’s most ambitious and charismatic MCs.
Eschewing the London sound of grime for a more global pop-rap, he specialises in dancefloor smashes like the Diplo-produced Trampoline and the KDA production Turn the Music Louder. He also finds space for epic songwriting, such as Written in the Stars, another chart-topper he performed at the 2012 Olympics closing ceremony. He’s also co-founded a management and entertainment company, and his own fashion label What We Wear.
With a new album, Youth, released last week, he joins us to answer your questions in a live webchat, from 1.30pm BST on Thursday 20 April. Post them in the comments below, and he’ll answer as many as possible.
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Cheers, that was fun! Hit me up anytime on Twitter or Instagram - @tinietempah or @tiniegram. Don't be shy, I don't bite - promise! #YOUTH2017 out now.