Kae Tempest (formerly Kate Tempest; born 22 December 1985) is an English spoken word performer, poet, recording artist, novelist and playwright. At the age of 16, Tempest was accepted into the BRIT School for Performing Arts and Technology in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extens ...

. In 2013, they won the Ted Hughes Award for their work ''Brand New Ancients''. They were named a Next Generation Poet by the Poetry Book Society, a once-a-decade accolade. Tempest's albums ''

Everybody Down ''Everybody Down'' is the debut album by English poet and spoken word artist Kae Tempest, which was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize. Its tracks comprise a unified story cycle with a coherent narrative arc, based upon a main character named ...

'' and ''

Let Them Eat Chaos ''Let Them Eat Chaos'' is the second studio album by English poet and spoken word artist Kae Tempest, the follow up to their Mercury Prize-nominated debut ''Everybody Down''. The album follows seven individuals who all live on the same street wh ...

'' have been nominated for the

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

. The latter's accompanying poetry book (also titled ''Let Them Eat Chaos'') was nominated for the Costa Book of the Year in the Poetry Category. Their

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to ...

''The Bricks That Built the Houses'' was a ''Sunday Times'' best-seller and won the 2017 Books Are My Bag Readers Award for Breakthrough Author. They were nominated as Best Female Solo Performer at the

2018 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2018 was the 38th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music show, the Brit Awards. It was held on the 21st February 2018 at the O2 Arena in London, with Jack Whitehall as the host. The Brit Award statuette desig ...

. Tempest came out as non-binary in 2020, using pronouns they/them.

Personal life

Kate Tempest Way Out West 2015 (20379617120)

Tempest grew up in

Brockley Brockley is a district and an electoral ward of south London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham south-east of Charing Cross. History The name Brockley is derived from "Broca's woodland clearing", a wood where badgers are seen (''br ...

, South East London, one of five children whose father was a corporate media lawyer, and their mother a teacher. Tempest worked in a record shop from age 14 to 18. They went to

Thomas Tallis School Thomas Tallis School is a large mixed comprehensive school for pupils aged 11–19, located in Kidbrooke in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, London, England. It opened in 1971, and was named after the composer Thomas Tallis, who lived in Greenwich ...

, leaving at 16 to study at the

BRIT School The BRIT School is a British performing and creative arts school located in Selhurst, Croydon, England, with a mandate to provide education and vocational training for the performing arts, music, music technology, theatre, musical theatre, dan ...

for Performing Arts and Technology in

, going on to graduate in English Literature from

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

. Tempest first performed at 16, at open mic nights at Deal Real, a small hip-hop store in

Carnaby Street Carnaby Street is a pedestrianised shopping street in Soho in the City of Westminster, Central London. Close to Oxford Street and Regent Street, it is home to fashion and lifestyle retailers, including many independent fashion boutiques. S ...

in London's West End. They went on to support acts such as

John Cooper Clarke John Cooper Clarke (born 25 January 1949) is an English performance poet, who first became famous as a " punk poet" in the late 1970s. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, he released several albums. Around this time, he performed on stage with s ...

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music is ...

and

Benjamin Zephaniah Benjamin Obadiah Iqbal Zephaniah (born 15 April 1958)Gregory, Andy (2002), ''International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002'', Europa, p. 562. . is a British writer and dub poet. He was included in ''The Times'' list of Britain's top 50 post-w ...

. Tempest toured internationally with their band Sound of Rum until the band disbanded in 2012 before being commissioned to write their first play, ''Wasted''. In August 2020, Tempest

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typicall ...

, began using ''they/them'' pronouns, and changed their name to Kae. KateTempestTreefort2017

Career

In 2013, Tempest released their first poetry book ''Everything Speaks in its Own Way'', a limited edition run on their own imprint, Zingaro. At 26, they launched the theatrical spoken word piece ''Brand New Ancients'' at the

Battersea Arts Centre The Battersea Arts Centre ("BAC") is a performance space specialising in theatre productions. Located near Clapham Junction railway station in Battersea, in the London Borough of Wandsworth, it was formerly Battersea Town Hall. It is a Grade I ...

(2012), to great critical acclaim. The piece also won Tempest the Herald Angel and The Ted Hughes Prize. Some of Tempest's influences include

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic ex ...

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the Modernism, modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important ...

W B Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

, W H Auden and

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close a ...

. In September 2013, their play ''Hopelessly Devoted'' was produced by Paines Plough and premiered at Birmingham Rep Theatre. In 2014, they released the album ''

'' (

Big Dada Big Dada is a British independent record label imprint distributed by Ninja Tune. It was started by reputed hip hop journalist Will Ashon in 1997. It is best known for marketing of prominent British hip hop artist Roots Manuva, poet and play ...

Ninja Tune Ninja Tune is an English independent record label based in London. It has a satellite office in Los Angeles. It was founded by Matt Black and Jonathan More (better known as Coldcut) and managed by Peter Quicke and others. Inspired by a visit ...

), which was produced by Dan Carey and was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize. Since the release of ''Everybody Down'', Tempest has increased touring as a musician, playing at festivals and headlining shows with their live band which consists of Kwake Bass on drums, Dan Carey on synths and Clare Uchima on keyboards. In October 2014, their first poetry collection for Picador, ''Hold Your Own'', was published. The collection was a commercial and critical success and its release coincided with Tempest being named a Next Generation Poet. Tempest was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 2015. In April 2016, their debut novel ''The Bricks That Built The Houses'' was published by

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

and was a

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, wh ...

Bestseller. It won the Books Are My Bag Best Breakthrough Author Award. In September 2016, it was announced that Tempest would curate the 2017 Brighton Festival. They released the album ''

'' on 7 October 2016. It debuted at no. 28 on the UK Albums Chart, and was also released in book format (Picador). The album 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. Tempest's song "People's Faces" was used for the Facebook commercial "We're Never Lost If We Can Find Each Other", created by the agency

Droga5 Droga5 is a global advertising agency headquartered in New York City with offices in London and Tokyo. History David Droga founded Droga5 in New York City in 2006. Droga said that he named the agency after the tag his mother used to sew into hi ...

, and released on 9 April 2020. ''Paradise,'' Tempest's modern adaptation of Sophocles' Greek Classic, ''

Philoctetes Philoctetes ( grc, Φιλοκτήτης ''Philoktētēs''; English pronunciation: , stressed on the third syllable, ''-tet-''), or Philocthetes, according to Greek mythology, was the son of Poeas, king of Meliboea in Thessaly, and Demonassa o ...

'', premiered at the National Theatre from 4 August - 11 September 2021. The all-female cast, featuring

Lesley Sharp Lesley Sharp is an English stage, film and television actress whose roles on British television include '' Clocking Off'' (2000–2001), '' Bob & Rose'' (2001) and '' Afterlife'' (2005–2006). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Act ...

, was directed by

Ian Rickson Ian David Rickson (born 1963) is a British theatre director. He was the artistic director at the Royal Court Theatre in London from 1998 to 2006.

and performed in the Olivier Theatre.

Politics

In November 2019, along with other public figures, Tempest signed a letter supporting Labour Party leader

Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom), Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2015 to 2020. On the pol ...

describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world" and endorsed him in the

2019 UK general election The 2019 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 12 December 2019. It resulted in the Conservative Party receiving a landslide majority of 80 seats. The Conservatives made a net gain of 48 seats and won 43.6% of the popular vote � ...

. In December 2019, along with 42 other leading cultural figures, they signed a letter endorsing the Labour Party under Corbyn's leadership in the 2019 general election. The letter stated that "Labour's election manifesto under Jeremy Corbyn's leadership offers a transformative plan that prioritises the needs of people and the planet over private profit and the vested interests of a few."

Reception

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econ ...

'' said of Tempest's commission from the Royal Shakespeare Company: "A stunning piece by aeTempest, a London-born performance poet, comes bursting off the screen. Rarely has the relevance of Shakespeare to our language, to the very fabric of our feelings, been expressed with quite such youthful passion. (It should be mandatory viewing for all teenagers.)" The '' Huffington Post'' describes them as "Britain's leading young poet, playwright and rapper...one of the most widely respected performers in the country – the complete package of lyrics and delivery.

hey are Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title ...

also one of the most exciting young writers working in Britain today" (2012). ''The Guardian'' commented of ''Brand New Ancients'', "Suddenly it feels as if we are not in a theatre but a church... gathered around a hearth, hearing the age-old stories that help us make sense of our lives. We're given the sense that what we are watching is something sacred." In 2013, the newspaper noted:

hey are Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title ...
one of the brightest talents around. heirspoken-word performances have the metre and craft of traditional poetry, the kinetic agitation of hip-hop and the intimacy of a whispered heart-to-heart... Tempest deals bravely with poverty, class and consumerism.
hey do Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
so in a way that not only avoids the pitfalls of sounding trite, but manages to be beautiful too, drawing on ancient mythology and sermonic cadence to tell stories of the everyday.

In 2013, aged 28, they won the Ted Hughes Award for their work ''Brand New Ancients'', the first person under the age of 40 to win the award, and was selected as one of the 2014 Next Generation Poets by the

Poetry Society The Poetry Society is a membership organisation, open to all, whose stated aim is "to promote the study, use and enjoyment of poetry". The society was founded in London in February 1909 as the Poetry Recital Society, becoming the Poetry Society ...

. Tempest has received wide critical acclaim for their written and live work. A performance of ''Brand New Ancients'' prompted the New York Times to say "As gorgeous streams of words flow out, hey conjurea story so vivid it’s as if you had a state-of-the-art Blu-ray player stuffed into your brain, projecting image after image that sears itself into your consciousness" while a review by Michiko Kakutani of their poetry collections in the same paper explored their written style: “While heirintense performances on stage add a fierce urgency to the words, these text versions of heirwork stand powerfully on their own on the page...using heirpictorial imagination to sear specific images into the reader's mind". They have been published in nine languages. ''Everybody Down'' was nominated for the 2015 Mercury Music Prize and ''Let Them Eat Chaos'' have been nominated for the 2017 Mercury Music Prize. Their accompanying poetry book ''Let Them Eat Chaos'' was nominated for the Costa Book of the Year in the Poetry Category in 2016. They were nominated as Best Female Solo Performer at the 2018 Brit Awards.

Publications

Poetry collections

* 2012: ''Everything Speaks in its Own Way'' * 2013: ''Brand New Ancients'' * 2014: ''Hold Your Own'' * 2016: ''Let Them Eat Chaos'' * 2016: ''Pictures on a Screen'' * 2018: ''Running Upon The Wires''

Spoken word performance

* 2012: ''Brand New Ancients'' – Ted Hughes Award 2013 (2014 released as CD) Kate Tempest, Ray-Ban stage 4

Plays

* 2013: ''Wasted'' * 2014: ''Glasshouse'' * 2014: ''Hopelessly Devoted'' * 2021: ''Paradise''

Novel

* 2016: ''The Bricks That Built the Houses'', Bloomsbury Circus, London

Non-fiction book

* 2020: ''On Connection'', Faber & Faber, London

Discography

Studio albums

* 2011: ''Balance'' (with "Sound of Rum") * 2014: ''

'' – nominated for Mercury Prize 2014 * 2016: ''

'' – nominated for Mercury Prize 2017 * 2019: ''The Book of Traps and Lessons'' * 2022: ''The Line Is a Curve''

Singles

* 2014: "Our Town" * 2014: "Hot Night Cold Spaceship" * 2015: "Bad Place for a Good Time" * 2016: "Guts (with

Loyle Carner Benjamin Gerard Coyle-Larner (born 6 October 1994), known professionally as Loyle Carner, is an English hip hop musician. After supporting various rappers during their tours, he released his debut album, '' Yesterday's Gone'', in 2017, which ga ...

)" * 2016: "Truth Is Telling (with Blasco Says)"

As featured artist

* 2008: "I Got Love (remix)" (

The King Blues The King Blues are a British punk rock band from London credited for fusing punk and hip hop together with influences from ska and spoken word. Tariq Ali described the band's sounds as "rough, radical music that should unsettle the rulers of ...

featuring Kae Tempest) * 2010: "Drum Song (brentonLABS Remix)" (

The Temper Trap The Temper Trap are an Australian indie rock band formed in 2005 by Dougy Mandagi, Jonathon Aherne, and Toby Dundas. In 2008, the group relocated from Melbourne to London. The band released their debut album '' Conditions'' in June 2009 to favou ...

featuring Kae Tempest) * 2012: "Forever Ever" (

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...

featuring Kae Tempest & Jay Brown) * 2014: "Our Town" (letthemusicplay featuring Kae Tempest) * 2014: "Rain" (

Rag'n'Bone Man Rory Charles Graham (born 29 January 1985), better known as Rag'n'Bone Man, is an English singer and songwriter. He is known for his deep baritone voice. His first hit single, "Human", was released in 2016, and his debut album of the same na ...

featuring Kae Tempest) * 2014: "Summer" (letthemusicplay featuring Kae Tempest) * 2018: "Kairos" (Warsnare featuring Kae Tempest) * 2018: "A Child Is an Open Book" (

Damien Dempsey Damien Dempsey (born 9 June 1975) is an Irish singer and songwriter who mixes traditional Irish folk contemporary lyrics that deliver social and political commentaries on Irish society. Damien sings in his native, working class accent in the Eng ...

featuring Kae Tempest) * 2018: "Usubscribe" (Jam Baxter featuring Kae Tempest) * 2018: "6 Millions Stories" (

Foreign Beggars Foreign Beggars were an English hip hop and dubstep group. Since their formation in 2002, the group's trajectory had seen them evolve from an underground hip hop group to an electronic crossover act. The group consisted of four artists individ ...

featuring Kae Tempest, Bangzy, Scott Garcia & Bionic) * 2019: "Blood of the Past" (

The Comet is Coming The Comet Is Coming is a London-based band who incorporate elements of jazz, electronica, funk and psychedelic rock. The band originally recorded for The Leaf Label, on which their debut EP ''Prophecy'' was released, on limited edition 12" v ...

featuring Kae Tempest) * 2020: "Time Is Hardcore" (

High Contrast Lincoln Barrett (born 18 September 1979), better known by the stage name High Contrast, is a Welsh electronic music producer, DJ and record producer. He produces drum and bass music, and his 2009 album ''Confidential'' reached BPI gold certi ...

featuring Kae Tempest & Anita Blay)

References

External links

* – official site *
Kate Tempest
interview with

Huey Morgan Hugh Thomas Diaz Morgan (born 8 August 1968) is an American musician best known as the former frontman of rock/hip hop band Fun Lovin' Criminals. Morgan performs both vocals and guitar and combines rock, hip hop, jazz, reggae, and funk influ ...

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

, 29 January 2012 (video, 7 mins)
Kate Tempest
"Shelf Life" interview, ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

'', 12 September 2012
Kate Tempest
on "Writing your own protest song", ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' Teacher Network {{DEFAULTSORT:Tempest, Kae Living people 21st-century English novelists 21st-century English poets Rappers from London Slam poets Ninja Tune artists People from Brockley 1985 births Writers from London People from Lewisham Fiction Records artists Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London People educated at Thomas Tallis School Fellows of the Royal Society of Literature English spoken word artists English LGBT poets LGBT hip hop musicians Big Dada artists Lex Records artists Caroline Records artists Non-binary writers Non-binary musicians