London grime MC Tempa T back to par
By Dylan Hackett, News Editor
4/5
After a failed bid to become mayor of London and three years of riding upon the viral popularity of his first, and only, official single, “Next Hype” and his Chase & Status collaboration “Hypest Hype,” Tempa T is back with a new track, “Say It Right Now.” Produced by S.K.I.T.Z. Beatz, the fast-paced drum n’ bass single is a rhythmic departure from his previous releases in the vein of grime, a little-known genre of UK rap that shares the tempo with and is a close cousin of dubstep.
As “par” usual, Tempa T begins the new track with his signature “Temmmpppz” shout over the song’s main hook. The hook is a descending chime with a lacing of outer-space flange, a sonic theme that seems to be present in the other pair of tracks leaked from Tempa T’s upcoming debut. The song repeats the hook for all four minutes and layers on a zippy echo-laced synth for a few bars in the chorus.
The choice of drum n’ bass backbeat fairs Tempz well on “Say It Right Now,” and shows an unexpected versatility in the rapper, whose repetition of his name and certain, seemingly random words and phrases like “dunknow,” “boy off da ting,” in most of his songs are set to pin him as unoriginal by non-fans who may not understand the inside joke idiomatics of his lyrics.
The single dropped on July 2 and is a prelude to Tempa T’s first full-length release, which is set to launch by the end of the year on his own Next Hype Entertainment label.