Thursday, November 18, 2010 4:26am ET by  
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Tinie Tempah talks humble beginnings and famous fans

Rapper Tinie Tempah, 22, has opened up about his meteoric rise to fame over the past year and about the celebs that championed him for stardom.

The star, who has sold more UK singles than any other artist this year, spoke to The Sun about how he grew up in a notorious, drug-ravaged estate in south London, raised by parents with high expectations.

Tinie said: "While growing up, my mum Rosemary set a benchmark for me and my brother and sisters.

"She was born in Nigeria and came here with nothing. She was like, 'Look at me, this is the minimum you can achieve'.”

Tinie revealed that his mother Rosemary, a human resources officer, and his social worker dad Patrick are his greatest influence: "My parents just worked really, really hard and that's what I've always looked up to. I want to be like them one day.

The ‘Pass Out’ rapper also talked about his celebrity fans, including Kylie Minogue and Snoop Dog, who he performed with at Glastonbury this year.

"Performing with Snoop - I was like, 'How the hell did this happen?'” said Tinie.

"I only met him 45 minutes beforehand and he was like, 'We're going to do Pass Out - the band know it, let's just go and kill it'.”

Watch Tinie performing with Snoop Dog at Glasto below:

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