Interview: Tinchy Stryder

Everyone remembers pocket-size rapper Tinchy Stryder for his canon of number ones and collaborations a few years back, but with his more recent material struggling to meet the success of his past hits, tiny Tinchy was keen to tell Phoebe Clarke of his huge hopes for his soon to be released forth studio album, Full Tank.

Much like many previous successful grime artists, Tinchy is eager to convince me that the jump to the richer mainstream bandwagon was solely due to a development of taste and that although he won’t be returning to his grime roots, with new material including a variety of styles that add a more mature edge to the album. “I feel like my fans will get to know me more in Full Tank” Tinchy tells me. “I’ve had more time to work on the material than with previous albums”.

Meanwhile, if the release of a new studio album wasn’t enough, Tinchy describes his plans to further grow clothing range Star In The Hood and launch his very own iPhone/iPad app Billionaire Bandit.  Commenting on this, Tinchy tells me “I have always admired how artists like Jay-Z have managed successful careers both as an artist and a business man. I too hope to develop my career in this way”.

Tinchy recently performed at Manchester Academy and commenced the city’s festive celebrations by switching on the city centre’s Christmas lights. Although the East London star’s optimism for Full Tank seems questionable, (its two released singles so far have been deservedly met with mixed reaction), it looks like the Tinchy brand is here to stay.