The manager who helped Tinie Tempah's rise to stardom

Dumi Oburota remembers with a smile just how short of money he and rapper Tinie Tempah often were before they hit the big time.

Tinie, today a multi award-winning singer, with two best-selling albums and two UK number one singles under his belt, was back in 2003 an unknown 14-year-old Londoner just beginning to try to make it as a performer.

Dumi, the son of a family friend, and then 20, was at the time starting out in music management.

He says that after first hearing Tinie rap he immediately tried to persuade the singer to sign with him.

Tinie, whose real name is Patrick Okogwu, agreed, and the two started out together on the road to stardom.

Yet with the rapper not getting a record deal until the end of 2009, it was a long six-year journey, often with little cash along the way.

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