Interview: Tinchy Stryder on his good pal Jay-Z, his crush on The Saturdays' Vanessa White and some girl called Cheryl

We were recently invited to Never Leave You singer Tinchy Stryder's Goji headphone launch party. Before we got stuck into the sausage rolls and finger sandwiches, we caught up with him for a quick chat.

Here's what he had to say:

We've got a bit of an idea, but can you tell us where the name Tinchy Stryder came from?

Ever since I started writing and MCing, I've always been the smallest out of my friends, so that's where Tinchy comes from. Stryder happened because when you're MCing you need a second name, and Stryder was a computer game – I never actually played it, but it sounded cool. I was thinking 'little tinch taking big strides.'

Jay-Z's your business partner for Roc Nation LLC – what's he really like?

Jay-Z's a cool guy. I grew up listening to him and he's inspiring – he's a cool guy. He makes you feel welcome. Whatever you see of him on the TV is exactly the same.

How about Beyonce?

She's even nicer – as in personality and looks.

What's your guilty music pleasure? Or is everything you listen to super-cool?

I think everything I listen to is cool, personally. The last track I bought was Cheryl Cole's single, Call My Name; I really like it. I haven't heard the album yet but I'm looking forward to listening to it. I like Cheryl; I like her a lot. I like her music and she's a cool person. When I met her, because I always have my shades on, she was like, 'Are you going to take your shades off for me before we take a picture?' So I took them off – anything for Cheryl.

So you seem to have a little soft spot for Cheryl; are there any other ladies out there at the moment that you like the look of?

I just really like Rihanna a lot – I guess everyone does. But I quite often like underrated people. Everyone might think Frankie Sandford from The Saturdays is cute and pretty, but I like Vanessa White.

Is there any chance you might get to work with Rihanna in the future?

From my point of view, it's all green lights – I ain't going to tell her no! It's up to her.

What's next for you?

Well the new single's out mid-August – it's called Help Me. That's the main focus for now.

Tinchy's new headphone range Goji Tinchy Stryder: On Cloud 9, is available exclusively at Currys and PC World from mid-July. www.gojicollective.co.uk