The task of warming up the crowd was left to Redlight and  J. Cole. Judging by the response to the American rapper, any future UK releases will surpass the highest position of his previous album, Cole World: The Sideline Story. It was strange, however, that the interval music was the likes of Coldplay and Bon Jovi – not what you’d expect to hear at a Tinie Tempah show!

Tinie Tempah performs at a packed Echo Arena

I’ve been a huge fan of Tinie and British rap in general (Dizzee Rascal, Labrinth) ever since I got a first taste of it back on my Spring Break of 2010, when I first heard Tinie’s “Pass Out.” Now that Tinie Tempah has his first album release in America, the music world is just waiting for a British invasion of the rap/hip-hop scene here in the U.S. With a lot of radio-ready tunes and collaborations with top-name artists (Wiz Khalifa, Swedish House Mafia, Ellie Goulding), it almost seems inevitable. Click on the song titles to hear the track!

1. Simply Unstoppable – Starting off with the swagger and nonsense rhymes usually heard by Lil Wayne (Honey I’m a fine boy/no pimples…/everybody wants me on their single), and a club-ready beat, Tine comes out swinging for the fences. The chorus, very anthem-like, continues with the whole “I’m establishing myself as the best” attitude with lines like “I can’t explain it/but  you’re gonna love this/so crazy outrageous/simply unstoppable.”

2. Pass Out – I’ve heard mixed reviews about this from others that I’ve shared it with, but since it was the first Tempah track that I heard, I personally love it. Very drum n’ bass-influenced, it carries a hard-hitting beat leading into lyrics that America has never heard of before – partying until the break of dawn, drinking, and eventually passing out. Still, the heavy beats are enough to keep me listening. It might just be enough to get a drum n’ bass track into mainstream America.

3. Till I’m Gone (Feat. Wiz Khalifa) – It’s no surprise that this is Tinie’s second single in America, trying to ride the coattails of success that Wiz Khalifa has found and using a name that’s heard all over high schools and colleges here in the U.S. I love Tinie’s tip of the hat to Aloe Blacc, and this is probably the most radio-ready track on the album. Carrying the message most notably established in Drake’s superhit “Forever,” Tinie raps about how he’s going to be around forever, been dreaming of this moment forever, all of that fun stuff. Good track, but I don’t know if it will be enough to make people buy the album.

4. Illusion – My favorite part of this track is the chorus, which you can’t really understand very well since it’s thrown through so many effects. It’s still pretty catchy, with lots of synth and piano action to pull you through.

5. So Addicted (Feat. Bei Major) – A “seduction/love” song with accompaniment by a “non-mainstream, but getting there” (less than 3000 fans on Facebook as of this publishing) American rapper, it’s nothing special, but the “Way-oh-way-ohs” are kinda catchy.

6. Snap – A chill drum and guitar track greets you at the start of the track, and as it introduces you to Tinie, you realize that this isn’t anything like the rest of the album. It’s about having memories and remembering the ones you love, with “Snap” referring to taking pictures, which will be “forever stored on my microSD.” I don’t think I mentioned it before, but Tinie also likes adding drops about technology in his raps. More on that later.

7. Written in the Stars (Feat. Eric Turner) – Now for the song that almost everyone has heard, this kind of surprised me when I first heard it on the radio, but not too much. The melody over Tinie’s flow is very much like his club-ready tracks, but the piano in the track and the anthem-like chorus from Eric Turner give Americans something to identify with. Lyrics are great, composition is great, excellent choice for a first single to keep us Americans wanting more.

8. Frisky (Feat. Labrinth) – Now for a complete role-reversal, Tinie goes from the nice, feel-good anthem to a more perverted track, both musically and lyrically. The music is a lot like “Pass Out,” which is why I immediately liked it – it’s club ready. Lyrics are the most risque of the album, with lines like “I’m suspicious/she looks delicious,” and “I would put her in positions like the mission from my staircase to her kitchen/ leave her twitchin….”

9. Miami 2 Ibiza (Feat. Swedish House Mafia) – Tinie did great to get on a track by some of the hottest DJs on the scene right now, which will help him go far in the clubs and among club-goers. Tempah starts off with a whole bunch of lines of acronyms of technology (Bold BB, JVC, white TT) – sounds really nerdy right now, but it sounds great on the track. Swedish House Mafia go crazy hard on the track, as it’s easily the most club-ready. Love it.

10. Love Suicide (Feat. Ester Dean) – If you’re expecting another “Drop it Low” performance to Ester, best go look someplace else. Another bit of a ballad held down by an acoustic guitar and a drum track, Ester shows more of her vocal talent as opposed to scandalous suggestions. A love track about the end of a romance, it’s a bit out of character for Tinie, but it falls along the same lines as “Written in the Stars.” I’d expect it to be on the radio sometime in the next year.

11. Wonderman (Feat. Ellie Goulding) – From what I’ve seen, this was and is the most hyped up track from Tempah’s album in Britain. Kicked off by some spoken vocals about a superhero (Wonderman) and Tinie dropping some British vernacular (“These haters couldn’t get to where I am with a full tank of petrol”), I don’t really see what’s so great. Maybe Britain’s full of superhero and comic book nerds. Ellie  pulls out a wonderful performance, as I’d expect. Worth a listen, but don’t bring high expectations.

12. Let Go (Feat. Emeli Sande) – Kicked off by a guitar and Emeli’s vocals, Tinie brings the energy down a bit for the final track on his album. The lyrics sound like a medley of different topics, from someone who’s getting a little too friendly with their significant other, to Tinie talking about how he would die if music needed saving. Not sure what to think, but it’s worth a listen.

Overall, I really like the album, though it might not sound like it in the review. Lyrics aren’t anything new, but the music is catchy, and a British accent is ALWAYS welcome here in the U.S. Expect Tinie to be around a while – he’s got the talent to be here and make a dent in the American music scene.

Buy Disc-Overy on iTunes

Lucozade have released a new advert called Yes which features Tinie Tempah, Travis Barker and boxer/ footballer Katie Taylor.

For the ad they used Tinie’s album track Simpy Unstoppable put Travis on the drums and the result is available to download.

Check the full advert here:

Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu Jr aka Tinie Tempah has been around for much longer than a lot of people think. Like most artists he didn’t just appear out of the blue with the amazing Pass Out. Tinie has started from the very bottom and evidently has worked his way to the top. In 2006 he released Wifey over the famous Flukes beat and then in 2009 released Tears.

So I’ve just got my hands or my computer mouse on the new Tinie Tempah album Disc-Overy. As always with a new album I like to start from the beginning and let the whole album play from beginning to end and thats exactly what I did with this.

The intro leads us into the first proper track called Simply Unstoppable, I thought this is a realistic way of describing himself, if that’s the aim or not I don’t know, what I do know is that it made my head bang and my foot have a spasm.

Pass Out follows and this track is of course a no brainer when it comes to radio play and dropping it in a club set, probably the best song of the year.

Frisky and Miami 2 Ibiza are both again massive in the club and it seems as though Tinie has found his market and managed to make it work extreamly well, I have to say though I’m not sure how amazing the tracks would be without the help of producer Labrinth who produced Pass Out and Frisky, do people like the tracks because of the beat or because of what Tinie is saying? Just throwing that out there.

Written In The Stars is a more ballad style record which is a contender this weekend for the number one spot against Labrinth funnily enough, a very interesting battle!

My stand out track on the album is the next single called Wonderman featuring my favourite artist, Ellie Goulding produced by Labrinth – a winning combination is an understatement trust me. This will make you’re head spin in amazement and you will dance like a nutter, or at least thats what happened to me.

Overall this is an amazingly strong first album from the UK star with number one written all over it.