Crack

A few months ago Crack delved into the world of grime and shared its enthusiasm for a group of artists breathing life back into the genre. There was one artist that could have featured in the group but was intentionally left out. The reason behind this? One paragraph really wouldn’t do justice to explain the phenomenon that is Tempa T.

Not so much an unknown pleasure in recent months, Tempa T has established himself as one of the most original MCs from the UK scene. With no official album or even a mix tape under his belt, Tempa T (or Tempz) has tens of thousands of views on YouTube, gained respect amongst his peers on the scene as one of its most exciting prospects and become an inspiration to both fashion designers and photographers alike.

Hailing from Maryland, Stratford, in East London, Tempz’ biggest track to date is the infectious Next Hype - which has been around since early 2009 and is still championed by a number of major DJs today, including Bristol’s very own Julio Bashmore. Its infectious production and comical vocals meant it appeared on many a mix and the years ‘best of’ track lists in a variation of publications.

As well as becoming a cult hit, the track is solely responsible for integrating a number of words into people’s vocabulary. The use of the term 'par' (in it's current context not its golfing one) is one example. Another example and, to many of my friends’ dismay, is a whole swathe of youths excessively using the term 'ting'.

For others, Tempz represents a novelty act with no musical integrity, contributing no more than an increase in ringtones played on the back of buses. He is much more intelligent and funnier than that. What Crack loves about Tempa T is that he doesn't take himself too seriously either, and has injected a hit of much needed fun back into grime music. The irony and amusement factor in Tempa T’s records deliberately shows how totally over the top the whole ‘ting’ is.

The lyrical content and the video for Next Hype are so overtly violent and aggressive it’s almost a spoof. Add a cameo from Tim Westwood in the mix and you have one of the most amusing pieces of YouTube gold we have seen in years. The tongue is firmly in Tempz’ cheek.

Another piece of Tempa T magic is a tour mockumentary of him in Scotland, in which Tempz is not afraid to climb a tree or feed a swan, even at the risk he my damage the image of machismo often associated with grime. It is a completely refreshing attitude and a hilarious parody of a grime scene that is often accused of taking itself too seriously.

Tempz has an image that stands out from the regular crowd, sporting a very tidy high top fade, he has also worked with designers like Cassette Playa, Jean Charles De’ Castelbajac, Maharishi and Fred Perry. His interest in style has led to a long term collaboration with infamous photographers Tim and Barry, who are particularly familiar with the grime scene having photographed the likes of Dizzee Rascal and JME, as well as directing the video for Next Hype and showcasing him in videos on their site dontwatchthat.tv.

It's been said that 2010 will be Tempa T's year and with an album and mix tape ready to drop (entitled dun know ad dun know). Hopefully we'll hear more material to satisfy our current addiction soon... else we’ll have to ‘par’ him.
Our Top 10 Tempa T'isms:

It's a ting
Dun know da dun know
In da bits
Boy off da ting
Buy up da ting
Next hype
Drapes... get out the car!
Dem man
It's nice it's nice
Pars R'us


Words: An Optimistic Grime Fan

Tune: Next Hype

http://www.myspace.com/tempztempz

http://testing.youlovecrack.com/blog/moving/3/

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