Tinie Tempah

In recent years, the U.K. has cultivated a slew of homegrown hip-hop acts marked by widespread prominence on their local turf in contrast with a failure to fully translate with listeners across the pond. After artists like Dizzee Rascal and The Streets merely scratched the surface of the U.S. market, the genre continues to be a tough sell. Despite these odds, Tinie Tempah is making an admirable go at wooing Yankee hearts from coast to coast. The 22-year-old’s latest album, Disc-Overy, is a giant, gleaming mass of commercial appeal, as evidenced by its double-platinum status across the pond. 

Updated 07/26/2011