Kae Tempest has spoken to NME about his unwavering respect for Jacob Alon, and aspiring to make a “profound moment of connection” through his music.
The rapper, poet and author caught up with us at the 2026 Ivor Novellos last week, where he and Fraser T. Smith were awarded Best Contemporary Song with their track ‘I Stand on the Line’.
That song featured on his fifth studio album ‘Self Titled’, which dropped last July via Island Records and featured appearances from Pet Shop Boys’ Neil Tennant, Young Fathers and Connie Constance.
This year’s victory marked Tempest’s second Ivor Novello trophy – following on from a 2024 win in the same category with ‘Geronimo Blues’. Taking to the stage, the London artist delivered a powerful speech about what it meant to connect with fans through deeply-personal lyrics, and shared how getting the award made him feel “seen”.
Backstage, Tempest told NME that while the Ivors win felt “surreal”, he already started to see how much his latest album meant to fans after embarking on his 2025 tour.
“That’s a really good way of checking in with how real it is to [fans],” he explained. “Everybody in the room goes to this place together, and you can see [what it means] in the faces of the people that are in the crowd. But also, you feel in your body that you’re sharing this profound moment of connection.”
“Whenever I think about what the music may be doing, I think about that. The live show,” he added. “It’s one of the greatest honours of my life to be able to do that, and see people turn up and be willing to give their time and their connection to what I’m doing.”
NME also asked Tempest about his friendship with Scottish singer-songwriter Jacob Alon, who was also there on the night and took home both Rising Star and Best Song Musically and Lyrically awards.
The two of them have shared praise for one another over recent years, and Alon joined Tempest as support for his ‘Self-Titled’ tour last year – where they came together each night to cover George Michael’s ‘Freedom’.
“Their presence is real. They’re such an accomplished player, they’re an incredible performer, they’re an incredible musician, but they’re also an incredible person,” Tempest said.
“I will protect them at all costs. That’s a person that I care about and I deeply admire, and I’ll be there for them in whatever way I can,” he added. “I’m an elder now and I take that seriously, in the sense that I’ve been in this industry long enough to know a little bit about what it can do.
“So when I see somebody whose heart is so raw and so open, and whose work is so close to the bone… it makes me want to care and step up. That’s the feeling Jacob gives me. This industry is not easy when you’re a sensitive person, but I just feel like they have got so much ahead of them.”
The win at the 2026 Ivor Novellos also comes following Tempest appearing on Kneecap’s emotional single ‘Irish Goodbye‘ and recently releasing his latest novel Having Spent Life Seeking. He is currently on the road supporting that book, and will soon be bringing his live show to Australia. Visit here for tickets.
NME awarded ‘Self Titled’ four stars, noting: “‘Know Yourself’ is a powerful combination of two voices: Kae today, and Kae years ago, billed as “a dialogue between selves across time, in real time” tracking the process of shifting identity via a sample of an old lyric. Amid these internal battles is a clear vision of the chaotic world outside, too.”
As well as Tempest, Smith and Alon, other winners at this year’s Ivor Novellos included CMAT getting Best Album, Sam Fender getting Songwriter Of The Year, and Rosalía being crowned International Songwriter Of The Year.
Radiohead’s Thom Yorke was handed the Academy Fellowship award by surprise guest Harry Styles, and George Michael posthumously received the Academy Fellowship, too.
