Tinie Tempah Ibiza Rocks Interview

Ahead of his amazing set at last night's Ibiza Rocks gig, we caught up with rapper of the moment Tinie Tempah to talk Ibiza, supporting Chase & Status and his love of new boyband The Wanted...

Q: Have you been to Ibiza before and why is it the perfect holiday destination?

A: I have been to Ibiza three times in the last month and stayed somewhere different every time. The first time I got here I was in Ibiza Town then I was in Playa De Bossa and now I’m in San Antonio and it’s definitely the perfect holiday destination. I’ve been to other party islands but Ibiza tops the chart. If you can find a minute you need to get to Ibiza and party, as it’s the ultimate clubbing experience out here you definitely get everything you want. What I like about it is when you come out the airport you see all the billboards for the different clubs and I think hats pretty amazing so you know what its all about. Ibiza is the one.

Q: How does it feel to be supporting Chase & Status at Ibiza Rocks and are you a fan?

A: Of course I am. I was actually fortunate to be on their UK headline tour and that’s where I got to meet the guys and meet them properly and they are on a different level. They have a different energy and opened me up to a whole different demographic when I was on tour with them so to come back a couple of months later to a really great environment, the heat and some beautiful women and a renown venue, we are going to rock it tonight.

Q: You have had huge success with singles Pass Out and Frisky; do you feel pressure for your next single Written In The Stars to achieve the same success?

A: To be honest no, with me its all about the music and making what’s natural to you and what you enjoy. As with Pass Out and Frisky, I just got a vibe with Written In The Stars and for me, it’s never been about charts. I come from an area where everything is just do it yourself and shoot a video by yourself and I am very thankful to the UK public who have brought the singles and support my music and those who come to my shows. Written In The Stars is another chapter in the story of Tinie Tempah and the discovery which is the album of course and I feel it’s the right time to run with it. We have just shot the video in New York and I think it’s the most amazing video I have ever done and it’s looking wicked in the edit. It feels good.

Q: You have mentioned your new album Dis-Covery, do you think the singles you have released give a representation of what your fans can expect?

A: Considering the album has 13 tracks on it, I would say no as I have listened to the album and have the opportunity to listen to it objectively as well and when I listened to it I thought there were so many different sounds and influences and different genres of music so I would say Pass Out, Frisky and now Written In The Stars is an alright indication. On a scale of 1 to 10 of representation I would say it’s like a 6 and there are four more points you need to discover to get a full feel of the album so hopefully after today’s set you will get a better idea.

Q: We caught you live at the iTunes Festival where you did a Lady GaGa Bad Romance cover, what can we expect from your Ibiza Rocks set? Any surprises?

A: I have just finished this amazing tune with Swedish House Mafia and its made it onto the album which I am really excited about and haven’t had the opportunity to perform so I think Ibiza is the place to do it as hopefully the audience is on the same vibe as me amongst heat, palm trees, sand, beautiful girls around everything feels right so I am just going to go out there and give it 100% and I just hope the crowd give me that back. I am going to try out some new stuff and get them involved and have a good one.

Q: You have recorded a track with Ellie Goulding called Wonderman, what can you tell us about it? Any plans to release it?

A: Yeah, there are. It doesn’t sound any thing like Written In The Stars, Pass Out or Frisky and with Ellie I feel we have had a parallel life over the past year or so as at the start of the year we were both tipped for really incredible things and thankfully, she has gone on to do amazingly well and I have chugging along doing my own thing so we kept in contact very early on and we said lets share these amazing experiences together and the media continued to link us together and said loads of good things about me and vice-versa and wanted to end the year with a bang so we thought, why not give them something they are anticipating and why not give them a heavy track and Wonderman is just that. I can’t wait for you guys to hear it.

Q: You have worked with Labrinth on Pass out and Frisky, he has also being working with Professor Green, would you ever like to do something together?

A: I’m a huge fan of Professor Green as an artist and I really like him as a person as well. I think he is the most down to earth guy ever and he has had an amazing year and had a load of success. I would definitely like to work with him, a collaboration is definitely in the pipeline but for me on my album it was more about expressing myself and giving people an in depth idea of what I am like as a person and an artist so I have just concentrated on making it all about me respectively but on the second album or a mix tape we are definitely going to go into the studio and do something epic. I have a lot of love for Professor Green.

Q: How does it feel to be representing Team UK and are there any new artists out there we should look out for?

A: I feel great I think British music is in a great place right now and we are at a point where we love our own more than anything else and I think that’s an amazing thing and goes to show what can happen when everybody starts to support and associate themselves with one thing. Where we are now is completely different to where we were two years ago It feels amazing to be representing and to be a part of that. As for this year, I tip Emilie Sande she’s an amazing talent and is on my album as well. She has recently signed an amazing deal and I think she is going to have some real global success. Labrinth as well, he is a very special individual so I think those two will be my top tips and will have a load of success this year and they are both on my album.

Q: We read that you are a fan of The Wanted; do you think they can rival JLS?

A: Yeah, what is was everyday on Twitter I would get loads of people asking me if I had heard about The Wanted and that I should check them out and we should do a track. I was thinking who are these guys and was like ‘not another boyband’ but then I ended up tweeting ‘who are these guys The Wanted’ and I’m quite honest on Twitter so if it looks like something is blowing up I will definitely touch on it and I got the opportunity to meet them as Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium and they are the most down to earth guys, polite and respectful and they seem to have a huge following so why not and I wish them a whole load of success. As for JLS, I don’t know why they both cant be around, there sounds are not the same and how you have Tinchy Stryder and Chipmunk I don’t see why you can’t have JLS and The Wanted. Lets celebrate and support it all, this is all British and we are at a point where we are dominating the charts and we are selling out shows. There is enough space for everyone.