No rapper present for my afternoon tea

 

“Taking afternoon tea with rapper Tinie Tempah

Tinie Tempah on his love of classic British style

By Stephen Smith

BBC Newsnight

 

Before I met the urban pop sensation Tinie Tempah, I worried that we might not have much in common.

Youthful, attractive to the opposite sex and spectacularly successful in a very short time, I might struggle to find anything to say to the rapper from Plumstead.

His records - including two number ones and two top five singles - won't do it for everybody, but they are rare red corpuscles in an anaemic pop culture, dominated by the bloodless cover versions pumped into the system by Simon Cowell and co, of whom more later.

As it happens, the 20-something Tempah is winningly genial company. He opts to meet, not in some graffiti-strafed "hood", but in the coddling environs of Claridge's restaurant during afternoon tea.”