East London rapper Tinchy Stryder’s a small man with huge talent, big ambition… and a larger than average collection of sunglasses. You may remember him from such chart-topping number ones as uh, Number 1 (a hook-up with fellow rappers N-Dubz) and Never Leave You, which saw the keen Manchester United fan team up with shaven-headed beauty Amelle from the Sugababes.
But where did he and his self-styled tees come from?
Bow boy Tinchy, so called because of his teeny 5’3” stature, first honed his skills on pirate radio sets in the capital from the age of 14, alongside fellow grime MC’s Wiley and Dizzee Rascal (heard of him?!) His debut album ‘Star In The Hood’ was released in August 2007, followed by the more successful ‘Catch 22’, which hit No.2 in the album chart back in 2009. Tinch promptly grabbed his boardies and surfed the wave of stardom with a tour supported by Chipmunk, Mz Bratt and later on, Example. Plus, he did his bit for chazza’ thanks to a money-raising track for War Child UK, recorded with fellow stars like Pixie Lott and N-Dubz. Good lad!
Tinchy’s 2010 album Third Strike may have been a bit of a soggy banana… but we soon forgave him when he bounced back this year with chart-busting top 5, Spaceship and Spinnin For 2012 - the official song of the London Olympic Torch Relay! So if that’s a sign of things to come, we’ve a sneaking suspicion Mr Stryder’s upcoming fourth album Lights, Camera, Action might just be, four kinds of super-wonderous. You heard it here first.
Felicity Counsell
