Kae Tempest

Musician

Kae Tempest is a British writer, rapper, poet and playwright. Formerly known as Kate, Tempest has been performing consistently since the age of 16. They began rapping in battles and have continued developing their skills as a writer and a performer ever since. Performing with their band Sound of Rum, Tempest performed extensively in the UK and also in Latvia, Stockholm, Paris, Berlin and New York. They have written poems for Barnado's, Channel 4, Amnesty International and Turner Prize-winning artist Chris Offili amongst others.

Tempest is a three-time poetry slam winner at the prestigious Nu-Yorican Poetry Cafe in New York and teaches a spoken word writing and performance workshop at Yale University. In 2012, Tempest's first play Wasted toured the UK, following the disbanding of Sound of Rum. In 2012, they launched the theatrical spoken word piece Brand New Ancients at the Battersea Arts Centre (2012), which won them the Herald Angel and the Ted Hughes Prize. In 2013, Tempest released their first poetry book Everything Speaks in its Own Way.

In 2014, they released the album Everybody Down, which was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize. In April 2016, their debut novel The Bricks That Built The Houses was a Sunday Times bestseller. Later that year they released the album Let Them Eat Chaos, which was also nominated for the Mercury Prize, this time in 2017. They were nominated for Best British Female Solo Performer at the 2018 Brit Awards.

Kae Tempest is a British writer, rapper, poet and playwright. Formerly known as Kate, Tempest has been performing consistently since the age of 16. They began rapping in battles and have continued developing their skills as a writer and a performer ever since. Performing with their band Sound of Rum, Tempest performed extensively in the UK and also in Latvia, Stockholm, Paris, Berlin and New York. They have written poems for Barnado's, Channel 4, Amnesty International and Turner Prize-winning artist Chris Offili amongst others.

Tempest is a three-time poetry slam winner at the prestigious Nu-Yorican Poetry Cafe in New York and teaches a spoken word writing and performance workshop at Yale University. In 2012, Tempest's first play Wasted toured the UK, following the disbanding of Sound of Rum. In 2012, they launched the theatrical spoken word piece Brand New Ancients at the Battersea Arts Centre (2012), which won them the Herald Angel and the Ted Hughes Prize. In 2013, Tempest released their first poetry book Everything Speaks in its Own Way.

In 2014, they released the album Everybody Down, which was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize. In April 2016, their debut novel The Bricks That Built The Houses was a Sunday Times bestseller. Later that year they released the album Let Them Eat Chaos, which was also nominated for the Mercury Prize, this time in 2017. They were nominated for Best British Female Solo Performer at the 2018 Brit Awards.

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