Kate Tempest

Poetry Arena

Poetry Arena

Poetry Arena

Kate Tempest (formerly Excentral Tempest) is a rapper, poet and playwright from South London. She was 16 when she first picked up a mic, and since then she has gigged and recorded extensively, making a formidable name for herself across the spoken word, UK Hip hop and London live music scenes.

She has won rap battles (Rollercoaster at Mass in Brixton) and poetry slams (the Nu-Yorican Poetry Café Slam in New York). Gigged at the biggest music festivals (Glastonbury, Big Chill, Supporting John Cooper-Clarke at Leeds Carling Weekend) and the smallest ones (The Big Green Gathering, Antic Banquet). She’s performed everywhere, from squat parties and protest marches (Reclaim the Future, Reclaim the Beach, and The G8 and G20 protests) to pre-show foyer gigs at theatres (The Theatre Royal, Bath) and intimate little poetry cafés (Green Note, Camden, Sanctuary, Brighton). 

Renowned for her passionate delivery and intelligent content, she loves language and is as much inspired by the Literary Greats as she is by Gza from the Wu-Tang Clan. She is writing a play, a novel, and her own debut album, and also working towards a second EP with her band SOUND OF RUM, the beats and rhymes 3 piece who stormed the festivals last summer. 

They have been played by Rob Da Bank on Radio One, and invited in for a session on BBC6  Music by Steven Merchant. Scroobius Pip says: “I had Excentral Tempest in several times on my BBC Radio One spoken word show and she has been the highlight of my listening this year. She has no right whatsoever to be as good as she is. It astounds me. Her writing is epic, her delivery piercing, and with the addition of her band Sound of Rum her potential is realised. Inspirational.”