HIP hop artists aren’t known for their modesty. But, even in a world of inflated egos, Jermaine Scott bristles with confidence.

The 26-year-old North Londoner, who trades under the sobriquet Wretch 32, is in no doubt as to his place in the pantheon of urban MCs.

“Devlin’s got the flow, Tinie’s quirky, Chipmunk’s confident and strong, but in terms of spitting talent and ability, I’m up there with the best,” he says.

And his big talk is justified. In no time at all, the ‘Metaphor Man’ has earned a reputation as the best lyricist on the scene, has been endorsed by everyone from Liam Gallagher and Adele to Jessie J, performed with P Diddy, recorded with Mark Ronson, and collaborated with Pixie Lott.

Oh... and he has scored a succession of consecutive top five hits with tunes Traktor, Unorthodox and Don’t Go which charted, respectively, at number five, two and one.

Now, following the release of his eagerly-awaited debut album Black & White, Wretch is taking his show on the road – and is heading for Oxford.

With a reputation as the ‘rapper’s rapper’ Wretch is a natural poet, whose words are borne out of his tough upbringing on Tottenham’s Tiverton Estate. It’s a rough neighbourhood, as evidenced by the recent riots. And the young Jermaine, who admits he was “not very academic” had to work hard to survive.

“I became the centre of attention, the class clown, and the teachers’ worst nightmare,” he says, and confesses in his own lyrics that he went down “the foolish route” – which is how he came to earn his urchin-like epithet (his mum called him ‘Wretch’ well into his teenage years).

But music played a huge role in his upbringing – his dad being a respected reggae DJ with his own soundsystem. His mum, meanwhile, was a huge influence on the young Jermaine – a strong Jamaican matriarch who, he recalls, gave birth to his sister at home without any medical assistance or drugs.

“I remember my mum going, ‘my water’s broke!’. I’m like, ‘What the hell’s “water”? And what do you mean “broke”?’”

Wretch, then aged seven, called for an ambulance, but, by then, his father had already cut the umbilical cord.

At the age of 17 Wretch was kicked out of the family home. Despite sounding harsh, he believes it did him good. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me,”. He says. He got a job at Sainsbury’s and a council flat on White Hart Lane, where the budding Wretch 32 and his team, the Combination Chain Gang, hung out.

He went on to try his hand at drama, stage management, and then media studies at college.

But music was really where it was at – with his sound inspired by rock and R&B which had surrounded him at home, and his own love of American hip hop; listening to the likes of P Diddy, 2Pac, Jay-Z.

“That’s where I come from,” he says. “It’s storytelling with heartfelt, sung choruses. I like hooks, music with the catchiness of R&B and the grittiness of hip hop with a touch of reggae in the rhyme patterns.”

Jermaine became a father at the age of 21. And it was a desire to give a better life to his son which, he says, kept him focussed on becoming the best.

He admits to having been a tearaway – fighting and causing havoc. There is not much, he admits, that he didn’t do, and he has since gone back to his old school to apologise to his teachers... and persuade the next generation to do better.

He was genuinely shocked by this summer’s riots. Though he is careful not to apportion blame. He knew Mark Duggan, the man whose killing by the police sparked the first wave of disturbances. Duggan went to the same school.

Being a Tottenham boy, Wretch didn’t fit naturally into the East End-based Grime scene and his music stands apart. With far more of a hip hop flavour, his narratives are delivered on top of a mix of samples and original rhythms from London producers Chunky, Y.Wiz, Stik Man, Issues & L, Lefty, Bubbles and Merlin. And it wasn’t long before word got out. Among his champions was Radio 1Xtra’s DJ Cameo.

Wretch says: “He heard me and went, ‘Who is this guy? How did he pop up? This is sick!’”

He formed a crew known as the Movement released hard-hitting mixtapes and stood back while the record companies came knocking.

He was soon accepted into the grime/hip hop ascendancy, feted by the likes of the aforementioned Devlin and Chipmunk, and MCs Wiley, Bashy and Scorcher.

“It’s like six or seven kids playing football, and five of them end up in the Premiership,” he says.

“There’s no rivalry. We see each other at PAs all the time, and me and Chipmunk have just done a mixtape together... it’s all good.”

It’s been quite a journey for Jermaine Scott, and one documented by his album.

“It is like a soundtrack to my life,” he says. “You’ll listen to it and know everything about me as a person.”