KAE TEMPEST

Who is Kae Tempest?

Kae Tempest is a boundary-defying poet, rapper, playwright, and novelist whose work pulses with urgency, empathy, and lyrical fire. With roots in South-East London and a voice shaped by the rhythms of the street and the solitude of introspection, Tempest bridges the ancient and the modern invoking the spirit of the bard in the digital age.

Their debut album Everybody Down (2014), nominated for the Mercury Prize, announced a singular new voice in music and spoken word. Tempest’s performances—whether on stage, on the page, or behind the mic—channel raw emotion into tightly wound verse, confronting themes of identity, class, capitalism, and connection with both ferocity and tenderness.

Award-winning plays (Wasted, Hopelessly Devoted), bestselling poetry collections (Brand New Ancients, Hold Your Own), and novels (The Bricks That Built the Houses) showcase Tempest's shape-shifting artistry. Across every medium, their work insists on the redemptive power of truth and the radical possibility of empathy.