Tinie Tempah Says He Will Finally Visit Scunthorpe After Fan Campaign

Rapper to visit Lincolnshire town 16 years after saying he never went there in his hit song. Rapper Tinie Tempah says he will finally visit Scunthorpe, 16 years after declaring he had never been to the town in his number one hit Pass Out. His decision follows a fan campaign led by Ben Jones, a Scunthorpe resident who has been taking a cardboard cutout of the artist around Lincolnshire ...

Rapper Tiny Tempah has said he will finally visit Scunthorpe - 16 years after he revealed to the world he had never been to the city in his number one hit Pass Out.

His decision follows a fan campaign led by Scunthorpe resident Ben Johns, who carried a cardboard cutout of the artist around the Lincolnshire town, encouraging people to pre-order Tampa's new album.

Johns had reached out to Tampa on Instagram asking "what would it take" to get him to visit his hometown, to which the artist replied "I'll make you a deal," adding that in exchange for 5,000 saves ahead of The Night's Not Dead album, he would "do an extended visit."

Johns said on his TikTok account that it would be an iconic moment in British music history and would bring Tinie Tempah to Scunthorpe.

The 2010 single, featuring the lyrics "I've been to Southampton, but I've never been to Scunthorpe", spent 65 weeks in the charts, spending two weeks at number one.

Johns' cardboard cut-out - with a QR code link to pre-save the album - went on a tour of Scunthorpe, visiting Scunthorpe United's ground, John Leggett Sixth Form College, and going on a night out on the town, drumming up pre-saves along the way.

In a video posted on social media, the London-based artist, whose work is a mix of rap, hip-hop and grime, said he was holding up his end of the deal and would soon be moving to Lincolnshire.

"I can't wait to come settle down and meet the wonderful people of Scunthorpe," Tempa said. "It's been a while, see you guys soon."

He also credited Johns for leading the campaign, saying, “First and foremost I want to give a big shout out to my brother Ben. I am very grateful for all your hard work. Pass Out may have put Scunthorpe on the map, but you've made sure no one forgets Scunthorpe.

Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside, Johns said: "I think it's going to be a really special night to have Tiny Tampa in town and get people excited."

He added: "To see everyone getting involved, from Scunthorpe United to John Leggett College, so many different people around town, as well as people on the internet who aren't even from Scunthorpe but want to see it happen, it's amazing to see."

"We look forward to programming for the incredible fans based in Scunthorpe," Tampa management said in a statement.