It really grinds my gears when singers and rappers embark on alternative ventures, such as perfume, clothing and other money-making merchandise. If you have a degree or experience in that particular field, then go for it. However it seems that at the height of one’s popularity, celebrities cannot help but branch out – regardless of their lack of talent in that area.
Maybe I am jealous, but what gives them the right to exploit their one talent to make money on other projects, when there are thousands of hard-working designers out there, desperate for exposure?
One artist who is aware of this feeling is rapper Tinie Tempah. The 23-year-old recently released his autobiography called ‘Tinie Tempah : My Life So Far’. At least the title is appropriate – a 23-year-old with one album releasing an autobiography seems absolutely ridiculous to me.
Following his autobiography, he also previewed the 2012 spring collection of his fashion line ‘Disturbing London’. The ‘Written In The Stars’ break-through act spoke to Q magazine about the clothing line, saying he wants people to focus on the fashion, not his fame.
“We’re working on our own brand but I really want to stay away from that whole hip hop cliché [of] he’s a rapper turned fashion designer turned actor turned property developer.”
The rapper added: “The clothing line is something I’m looking to launch in a big way. I’m working 24/7 on it.”
Having seen the clothing line; I have to say it SCREAMS Tinie Tempah. However, I do still think “that’s a nice shirt”. So his hard work wasn’t for nothing.
He finished off by saying: “There’s a lot of creative designers in the UK, we should support more.”
Fair enough. Have you bought anything from the Disturbing London range?