Disc-Overy
3/5
There’s no doubting the populist knack of 21-year-old south London MC Tempah. On tracks such as 2005’s ‘Football Factory’, his shtick was very much slavish imitation of ‘Boy in da Corner’-era Dizzee Rascal.
But nowadays he’s embraced grime-pop and got major-label backing. Rhymes that attempt to balance braggadocio and family friendliness often border on comedy (‘I come up out the f*****g dirt like a vegetable’), and the success of this album hinges on a slew of guest vocalists (Ellie Goulding on ‘Wonderman’, Kelly Rowland on ‘Invincible’) and slick, chart-friendly production cashins on the popularity of Auto-Tuned synth-pop and rave-lite. He gets away with the Dre-ish piano stabs and RATATAT-ish production of ‘Invincible’ or ‘Pass Out’s staccato bassline and space-dub breakdown, but the rest of the album runs into the irksome. See ‘Written in the Stars’, where the chorus is only a few pyrotechnics and bits of detachable ladywear away from justifying a Graham Norton commentary. It’s got all the right ingredients – and occasionally achieves catchiness – but it’s too patchy to truly impress.
