Kae Tempest
A poet who fills concert halls, Tempest came out as non-binary in 2020 and as a trans man in 2025.
Kae Tempest grew up in south-east London and began rapping at open-mic nights as a teenager. He attended the BRIT School for performing arts and performed in the hip-hop band Sound of Rum.
In 2013 he won the Ted Hughes Award for innovation in poetry for “Brand New Ancients”, a long poem for the stage. His albums “Everybody Down” (2014) and “Let Them Eat Chaos” (2016), which combine spoken word and electronic music, were nominated for the Mercury Prize. His debut novel “The Bricks That Built the Houses” (2016) became a bestseller. His work speaks of life in the city, love, addiction, political crisis and empathy.
In 2020 he announced that he is non-binary and changed his name from Kate to Kae. In his book “On Connection” (2020) he wrote about creativity and community. In 2025 he said publicly that he is a trans man.
Tempest continues to perform poetry and music around the world and has also written several plays.