Tems

Today, Tems has achieved global acclaim, earning Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, awards from the Grammys, BET Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, and two Soul Train Music Awards.

The Nigerian phenom boasts a list of collaborations with longstanding stars including Beyoncé, Drake, Future, Wizkid, Justin Bieber and Rihanna, her genre-melding rhythms and lyrics mesmerizing peers and fans alike.

Tems’ rapid rise can be explained simply through the law of attraction, the singer making a point to never chase, but rather to receive. A trailblazer in Nigeria’s alté movement, her reflective, genre-transcending bodies of work juxtapose with the party-centric afrobeats sound her region is known for.

Through her 2020 debut EP, For Broken Ears, Tems shared her truth with the world, unveiling the struggles of her evolving and often conflicting identity. Infused with afrobeats, soul, R&B, reggae and pop, the alté record introduced Tems to an ever-growing audience who fell in love with both her vulnerable tales and velvety-rich tone.

The singer signed to RCA Records/Since ’93 and soon after caught the attention of afrobeats pioneer Wizkid, who joined forces with Tems on his euphoric summer anthem, “Essence.” The track became a crossover hit, quintessential for Tems and the afrobeats genre alike. After being co-signed by Justin Bieber, “Essence” was further bolstered up, reaching No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the first Nigerian-led song to break into the Hot 100.

In September 2021, Tems released her second EP, If Orange Was A Place. The five-track set earned critical praise from Pitchfork, Rolling Stone Magazine and Complex, the latter hailing it as “soul-nourishing.” The project paved the way for Tems’ first Grammy Award win alongside Future and Drake for the 3x RIAA platinum-selling single, “WAIT FOR U,” sampling For Broken Ears sleeper hit, “Higher.”

Throughout her swift ascent, what Tems identifies as most miraculous is her own personal transformation, her recent debut album, Born in the Wild, inspired by this evolution. Within the 16-track body of work, Tems effortlessly floats through uncharted genre territories on cuts like “Unfortunate” and “Forever”,  all while the rawness and essence that defines Tems remains all-pervasive. “Love Me Jeje,” the first single from Born In The Wild encapsulates this new, lighthearted era for the songstress, “Jeje” meaning “softly” in Yoruba. The track, fully written by Tems and produced by Spax and Guiltybeatz is an ode to Tems’ early years in Nigeria and includes an interpolation of the 1997 Nigerian classic “Love Me Jeje” by Seyi Sodimu.

As Tems continues shattering ceilings in her career, her artistic purpose remains constant: “To tell your story, no matter who you are,” she explains. “You have to make sure that as you learn lessons, you’re passing them on.”