IT IS just two years since Tinie Tempah burst onto the UK music scene and in that time he has gone on to become the country’s prince of rap.

At the BIC on Saturday night he proved why he deserves that crown.

A sold-out crowd went wild from the moment he was fired into action in an explosion of fireworks from below the stage.

Backed by a full rock band he went straight into a string of tracks from his only album – the half a million selling Disc-Overy – including the hit Frisky and the number one Written in the Stars.

He worked the crowd superbly by strutting across the stage with supreme confidence in a grey boiler suite, a beaming grin and his trade mark sunglasses.

The atmosphere of the hour and a half performance slowed half-way through as Londoner Tinie, who is 23 today, went into a basic “stripped down” set for a few tracks.

The double-Brit award winner even encouraged the ecstatic audience, who were always only too willing to please, into a bit of sing-a-long.

But it wasn’t too long before the laser lights and fireworks returned with the crowd pumped up and sent into a frenzy by the track of the night – Miami 2 Ibiza, the hit collaboration with dance producers Swedish House Mafia.

There followed two, well-deserved encores, finishing off in true style with his resounding signature track – his first number one – Pass Out.

This was his fifth date of a eight- venue arena tour.

Anyone lucky enough to have tickets for any of the remaining three gigs is in for a treat and can really expect something huge from our Tinie.

Big things are also expected of his support act – American rapper J Cole who has been signed by Jay Z’s record label.

He got the night off to great start with an impressive set of tracks from his debut album Cole World: The Sideline Story, already a US number one.

J Cole is also due to play Southampton University next Monday.