Tinie Tempah chooses his Tracks Of My Years

Rapper Tinie Tempah joins Vernon all this week to choose his Tracks Of My Years, starting with Dolly Parton and Shanks & Bigfoot, alongside memories of growing up in south London with a work ethic he learned from his parents, and how he choose to try and pursue a music career over going to university.

Plus, two listeners take on our music quiz Ten To The Top and Vernon visits the BBC Archive in Vernon's Vault.

Born in 1988 in London, Tinie Tempah began his music career in the mid-00s as part of the collective Aftershock Hooligans before going solo and founding his own independent label. In 2010 he released his huge breakthrough single, Pass Out, which spent two weeks at #1 in the UK singles chart, followed by a second chart-topper and massive international hit Written In The Stars, then his debut album Disc-Overy. The album topped the UK chart, went top 30 in the US and has been certified 3x platinum, leading to two Brit Awards for British Breakthrough Act and Best British Single. He's also won four MOBO Awards, as well as an Ivor Novello and has released two more records. Over the years he's collaborated with Zara Larsson, Calvin Harris, Labrinth, Swedish House Mafia, Kelly Rowland and many more. In the last few years he's presented TV documentaries and shows including Extraordinary Extensions on Channel 4 and appearing as a guest investor on Dragons' Den. He's also a purple belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and has recently returned to music, with the latest single Living Life released earlier this year.

Listen to Vernon's full conversation with Tinie Tempah, along with many more, on BBC Sounds, and watch on BBC iPlayer and Radio 2's YouTube channel, just search for 'Tracks Of My Years'.

A BBC Audio production for BBC Radio 2.