Tinie Tempah announces return to music 'to save Britain's clubs' after quitting 'to change nappies and raise his kids' - but This Morning viewers are totally divided

Daily Mail​

18-07-2025

Tinie Tempah has announced his return to music 'to save Britain's clubs' after quitting 'to change nappies and raise his kids' - and This Morning viewers were instantly divided.
The London-born rapper and singer, 36, appeared on the ITV chat show on Friday to mark his industry comeback, nearly ten years after his last album Youth in 2017.
The artist, whose new single Eat It Up came out on Thursday, told presenters Dermot O'Leary, 52, and Sian Welby, 38, what he has been up to - and his current plans.
The Pass Out hitmaker explained his hiatus: 'I basically stepped back a bit just to settle down, have kids, all that stuff, do the school run, change nappies.'
And he used his appearance on the sofa to spread the word about preserving British nightlife and music venues, which have been in decline since the pandemic.
But This Morning viewers took to social media to give a mixed consensus about the artist's return to mainstream celebrity life.
The London-born rapper and singer, 36, appeared on the ITV chat show on Friday to mark his industry comeback, nearly ten years after his last album Youth in 2017
Tinie, whose real name is Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu, married artist Eve De Haan in 2019, the daughter of the Saga insurance firm's former owner Sir Roger De Haan.
They share two daughters, born in 2018 and 2021.
The rapper told Dermot and Sian: 'I was watching my kids grow up and I was thinking, "Wow, they're actually not going to be able to experience me in some of these venues that maybe my siblings did or friends that I grew up with did.
'"I need to do this for them".'
During his break from making music, he also bought a recording studio in London to support other rappers and singers.
He explained: 'Seeing all these incredible artists coming in and out of my studio and hearing their bangers, I was doing DIY, painting the walls, sanding the floors, and people are making bangers.
'And I was like, "I'm not a carpenter, I need to get back on to the music!"'
Tinie said his return to the industry was also 'really motivated by the landscape of where we were economically'.
Tinie, whose real name is Patrick Chukwuemeka Okogwu, married artist Eve De Haan (pictured together in 2018) in 2019, the daughter of the Saga insurance firm's former owner Sir Roger De Haan
He pointed out how since gigs stopped and event spaces closed during the Covid pandemic, the nation has lost around three venues a month.
A staggering 480 clubs vanished between June 2020 and September 2024, according to figures from the Night Time Industries Association.
Even the capital was hit hard, going from 200 venues in 2020 to just 143 four years later.
An association spokesman has previously said: ''The rapid decline is devastating for our economy.
'Without urgent Government intervention, we risk losing a key part of the UK's cultural identity in dance music.'
It has a bigger effect than on just artists, Tinie emphasised: 'If you think about the bouncer that works there, the barmaid, the person that's working at the cloakroom, there's a little cottage economy in there.
'So, I think the best thing people can do is just keep attending, keep going.'
The musician continued: 'I know there's so many other things going on in the world that we should be concerned about.
'However, as an artist, I'm thinking of the next generation of acts and I'm thinking if they don't have the same venues that I did, now they have virtually no venues, how are we going to get all these exciting genres like drum and bass and garage and grime and house music that were birthed out of these spaces?'
Tinie added it is especially important 'in a time of division': 'As simple as it is, music brings joy, it brings people together and so we need to preserve these spaces.
'And I'm hoping that my little voice can start off hopefully a domino effect of other artists identifying the problem and being a voice as well.'
He concluded: 'Let's keep some of these institutions alive because that's what they are, some of these places are institutions.
'I hear people that are in their fifties and sixties talk about the Hacienda [club in Manchester] and we need venues like that that we'll be talking about for years to come.'
Some This Morning viewers were delighted to see Tinie on the show, with one excitedly writing on X: 'Tinie Tempah on after the break.'
Another added on the social media platform: 'Tinie Tempah seems a top bloke.'
But others were less interested: 'Written in The Stars is the only one I know.';
'I hear people that are in their fifties and sixties talk about the Hacienda [club in Manchester] and we need venues like that that we'll be talking about for years to come', he continued. Pictured: Tinie in 2016
'Rap icon Tinie Tempah? More one hit wonder.';
'Is it just me or do all of his songs sound the same?'
And some were not keen on him at all, bringing up previous controversies Tinie has been embroiled in.
They included his previous admission he once had sex with a groupie while her mother waited outside the room.
The rapper has previously confessed to Shortlist magazine: 'Basically... this girl came to see a show with her mum. She was really nice.
'She and her mum hung around after the show and the daughter was giving me "the look". I thought, "You're lovely but your mum's here".
'We flirted and there was banter that hinted at it. And then the mum was like, "Oh I don't mind, I'll wait!"
'So, her mum just waited outside the dressing room. That was f***ing weird.'
Some This Morning viewers were delighted to see Tinie on the show
But others were less interested
It comes after another recent segment on This Morning did not just divide viewers - but rather put some of them off entirely.
Fans fumed 'I've had to switch off' after TikTok witches took over the studio earlier this week.
Thursday's instalment of the ITV show saw co-hosts Cat Deeley, 48, and Ben Shephard, 50, sit down with three women who identify as witches.
Mother and daughter duo Emma Griffin and Holly Kenyon, along with Katy Whyte, opened up about their lives as professional sorceresses.
All three post about their magical activities on TikTok.
Emma explained: 'I think the word "witch", people are are scared of it because of the movies and I think now people are looking at it as a form of wellness and good for their emotions and inner calmness.
'It's really beautiful to see younger generations, especially Holly's age, stepping into witchcraft and sharing their magic.'
Holly had been brought up surrounded by witchcraft as both her mother and grandmother practised.
Fans fumed 'I've had to switch off' after TikTok witches took over the studio earlier this week (pictured)
Emma revealed 'anyone can be a witch' and Katy opened up about how she has been interested in it since she was young.
Katy said: 'For me, when I was a teenager, I was drawn to it, I would end up in the witchy shops.
'I was completely in the closet, all my books hidden from my parents because I was really embarrassed by it because back then, it wasn't on social media so this is why I think it's so lovely now.'
She revealed she was interested in 'the cycles of nature' and the moon.
Holly explained: 'I've been doing it since, my earliest memory is seven years old.
'I used to make potions from my mum's stuff in the bathroom and carried it on from there.'
As for those who are more cynical about witchcraft, Holly said: 'I look at it as, it's a lifestyle and it's a beautiful way to connect to nature and it's embracing slow living and going back to what our ancestors gave us.'
But the witches were not well received by some viewers who took to social media to share their thoughts.
One posted on X: 'FFS!... I am lost for words... Witches #ThisMorning.'
Another added: 'This is so ridiculous and mind numbing, had to switch off, absolutely pathetic! #ThisMorning.'