Inside Tinie Tempah’s life as he makes career jump from rapper to TV presenter on Extraordiary Extensions
TINIE Tempah is the most successful British rap artist in UK chart history - but he's recently turned his hand to a new career.
The rapper has turned TV presenter on Channel 4's Extraordinary Extensions, bringing his property expertise into play for the first time.
Tinie, 32 - real name Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu - has amounted a number of musical awards, as well as an extensive property portfolio.
It's given the South London rapper a chance to change careers and become a property guru helping British homeowners to transform their spaces.
In his new four-part series for Channel 4, Tinie will be seen helping families bring their whacky architectural visions to life with huge budgets.
Across four episodes, the rap star is set to oversee builds costing between £500k and a million pounds - sharing his own renovation experiences.
Fans have already been delighted by the first episode, which introduced couple Amy and Simon and their million-pound glass structure.
While Alan and Linda who are hoping to build a ski slope extension attached to a 17th-century farmhouse in Herefordshire.
But how did Tinie drop the Tempah and go from international rap star to television property guru? We've got the lowdown.
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The star has previously opened up about his "really cool" property portfolio across the world - a far cry from his childhood council estate home.
Entrepreneur Tinie has kept his love for property relatively quiet until now, as he explained in an interview with the earlier this year.
"It's not something you really talk about in your raps," he said, attributing his love of property due to his "working-class upbringing".
"Property was a way that we were able to move up the socio-economic ladder," he said. "I came out of a council estate environment and, at 12, my parents bought our first property in Plumstead.
"Fast forward a couple of years, and they’ve got more than a handful. I grew up seeing my mum do loads of extensions."
It wasn't until lockdown brought his music career to a stand still that Tinie felt it was time to turn his hand to property full time.
Instead of sitting "in the studio at home, scratching [his] head," he decided he was up to the "new challenge" of presenting a property show.
Tinie added: "At the start of the pandemic, the music industry got hit really, really hard. Obviously, there were no gigs. I was in the studio at home, scratching my head.
"I got this phone call, 'We’re doing this property show, and we would love you to do it.' At first, I was like, 'I don’t know…'
"But I’m at the age now where I want to communicate with other sides of myself. I’ve been making music since I was 16-years-old. I’ve achieved a lot. But I feel like this is a new challenge.
"When you make records, you’re very much at the mercy of people every single time. When I’m buying a property or I’m flipping it and trying to sell it, I’m at nobody’s mercy.
He added: "It’s just really the best thing in the world and gives you a whole new outlook and perspective on life and makes me very appreciative for where I am in my life."
BEHIND THE SCENES
It's not only Tinie's career that's kept him busy throughout lockdown - as he welcomed his second daughter earlier this year.
In 2018 - the rapper married his longtime love Eve De Haan at a secret ceremony in a tiny church in the Costwolds surrounded by family.
The wedding only hit the headlines as a nearby school found out about the ceremony after security was seen at the event.
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Eve, 29, is an artist from London and the granddaughter of Sidney De Haan, the founder of Saga, which offers holidays and insurance to over 50s.
Tinie welcomed his first daughter shortly before their wedding, while their second daughter was welcomed in 2021.
