"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Give a young man a rhyming dictionary, and he will have a best-selling album and border on musical world domination" - New Dan proverb.
Ahh. Mr Tempah. Or Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogw, as his mum probably calls him.
I really don't know what to make of this one. I'd like to say that I can't stand it, as it really isn't something that I'd listen to out of choice, and the young fellow does come across as an arrogant t*** who created an entire album boasting about the fact that he's done alright for himself.
Then again, why shouldn't he? I suppose my main gripe is that, as the first couple of lines of this piece suggest, he does seem to have just grabbed hold of a rhyming dictionary and strung almost anything together, as long as it sounds nice. "I've been Southampton but I've never bin to Scunthorpe" from his hit Pass Out is a prime example of the kind of garbage lyric that features on here, but at the same time, it's something that youngsters lap up, so again, can't really blame him. I even remember a Facebook group being started with the very same title. *sigh – maybe I'm just getting too old*
The singles that came from this album are actually very good. Pass Out might have appalling lyrics, but as a dance tune, it's up there with the best. Written in the Stars is also very, very catchy. Not necesarrily because of Tinie's parts, but the chorus would hook anyone in.
Thankfully (for my brain) - there is some crap on here for me to moan about. The last track, Let Go, is awful, and tells the story of a break-up, I think. I can't concentrate on it, after 12 songs, my head had had just about enough of Tinie.
I have seen him before actually, through coincidence though, rather than choice. Making my way over to the Pyramid Stage at last year's festival to watch Vampire Weekend, I caught the second half of Snoop Dogg's set, featuring special guest Tinie Tempah. I've even dug out the video for you, if you want to see what it sounds like live. Check it out here.
And that's probably enough from me. If hip-hop and rapping aren't your thing, I'd give this a miss. If they aren't, but you like a good club track, give it a go. And if you do like rap and the such, then I've probably not said anything so far that you didn't already know about Mr Tempah (and you'll probably disagree with everything that I just wrote).
Aside from the music on here, with 30 albums down, and 30 to go, I thought I'd share a few stats and such with you, as I am amazed at how many people read this blog each and every time I come on here.
So. The original plan was to reach 1000 views before the festival. Halfway through, and the stat counter is showing almost 1500. Thank you everyone. I've had readers in France, England, America, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, China, The Philippines, Sweden, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Singapore and more. I've even had one read in Uruguay. Thank you again. I'm fascinated by how the blog reaches these parts of the globe, so please leave a comment if you are reading from afar.
And that's me done. Halfway home. Still waiting on the fame and glory though...
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