The Nigerian Star Redefining Global R&B

Tems — born Temilade Openiyi on June 11, 1995, in Lagos, Nigeria — is a exceptional power in world music at the moment. From advocacy to award-winning hits, right here’s what to learn about her exceptional profession and what the R&B goddess has in retailer for followers on the horizon. 

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Youth

Raised primarily by her mom after her mother and father separated when she was 5, Tems grew up in a family the place she explored her personal voice and id. She wrote her first track on the age of six after discovering her mom’s poetry guide, which sparked her ardour for singing, in accordance with her 2020 interview with The Fader.

That curiosity and spark traveled along with her into her teenage years. At 17, Tems joined a choir and located solace in singing, regardless of initially feeling that her voice was “too heavy” to pursue professionally.

“I assumed I appeared like a person, so I used to sing with my falsetto, after which I met my music trainer, who helped prepare my voice and inspired me to maintain going,” she revealed. “I at all times needed to be an artist after I began coaching, working with my music trainer. I additionally joined the choir after I was 17. All that was in secret; my mum was the one one that knew. My brother performs the guitar, and we used to have mini-concerts in his room. He favored rock-type songs — Coldplay, Paramore— but it surely was nice ‘trigger it made me discover ways to type songs to something. He’d play and I’d simply freestyle.”

Breakthrough initiatives

Her official entry into music got here when she left her job in digital advertising in 2018 and launched her self-produced debut single “Mr Insurgent,” in accordance with Tune Sense. That transfer signaled she was able to go full-time in music. The next yr, in August 2019, she dropped “Attempt Me,” a track that resonated broadly in Nigeria and set the stage for one thing a lot larger to return.

It was the 2020 collaboration with Wizkid on “Essence” that turned her breakthrough undertaking. The observe soared onto world charts, peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Scorching 100 after a remix with Justin  Bieber, and earned Tems her first Grammy nomination, a serious leap for a Nigerian feminine artist working largely independently till that time. Her minimalist but deeply emotive vocal supply and her songwriting authenticity marked her as a contemporary voice in Afrobeats, fusing R&B with neo-soul.

From that time on, Tems’s profession trajectory accelerated quickly. She featured on main worldwide tracks, for instance, her look with Future and Drake on “Wait  for  U” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Scorching 100, making Tems the primary African feminine artist to attain the feat in 2022. The track additionally gained a Grammy for Finest Melodic Rap Efficiency.  

Tems continued her success that yr, co-writing “Carry  Me  Up” for the movie Black  Panther:  Wakanda  Without end alongside Rihanna, incomes an Oscar and Golden Globe nomination, in accordance with Billboard. 

Sound, Fashion, and Affect

Tems’s type and sound replicate a fusion of her Nigerian roots with worldwide influences. She’s expressed admiration for artists like Alicia  Keys, Lauryn  Hill, and Celine Dion, R&B icons recognized for crafting highly effective, emotional moments. That’s the type of impression she strives for when creating. 

“Music is supposed to make you are feeling one thing. And a number of music now could be for utility, it doesn’t essentially make you are feeling one thing,” Tems informed NPR in 2024. “I actually wish to really feel it in my chest! I wish to really feel unhappy, I wish to really feel completely happy, I wish to really feel motivated.”

Her EPs For  Damaged  Ears and If  Orange  Was  a  Place established her introspective aesthetic and manufacturing credentials: she wrote and produced a lot of her personal music on each initiatives. Her sound is commonly spacious and susceptible, but assured, grounded in her voice and private tales, mixing their emotional depth with Afro-rhythms and neo-soul textures.

Tems holds on to authenticity when she makes music. 

“To seek out my sound, I finished listening to everyone after I was round 15, aside from the songs I made with my brother. I needed to discover ways to assault a track from what I used to be feeling, not what Beyoncé would do or anybody else,” the star informed The Fader.

In 2024, she launched her debut album Born within the Wild, that includes the hit single “Me & U” and her Grammy-award–successful observe “Love Me JeJe,” R&B love ballads that captivated audiences worldwide. In accordance with REVOLT, Tems wrote and produced a lot of the acclaimed undertaking herself, simply as she did with each of her earlier EPs.

Tradition & Advocacy

Past her music, Tems has develop into a robust advocate for creativity and empowerment. In 2022, she launched Main Vibe Radio on Apple Music, a platform devoted to highlighting African creatives, significantly girls discovering their voice within the arts. The present has since advanced right into a dwell occasion collection and group known as the Main Vibe Initiative, led by the Grammy winner, providing mentorship, entry, and actual alternatives to empower African girls in music.

Prior to now, the Nigerian star has additionally offered garments and equipment from her personal closet in Lagos and donated the proceeds to the Girls  at  Danger  Worldwide  Basis (WARIF), an NGO devoted to combating gender-based violence in Nigeria, REVOLT famous.

What’s subsequent?

Wanting forward, Tems is featured in a brand new track alongside British rapper, Dave. In accordance with a photograph shared to the Brit’s Instagram, the observe is known as “Raindance,” and seems because the fifth track on his third studio album, The Boy Who Performed the Harp, set for launch Oct. 24. 

Tema’s rise from Lagos-born choir singer to Grammy and Oscar-nominated, multi-award-winning expertise represents a brand new wave of African artistry with world resonance. Her footprint in music, type, and activism indicators one thing bigger, a creativity rooted in her origin but fluent on the earth.