Temilade Openiyi, often known as Tems, is a Nigerian singer who was born on June 11th, 1995.
For Broken Ears, her debut extended play, was published on September 25, 2020. After signing with RCA Records, Tems released her second extended play, If Orange Was a Place (2021).
Tems was acknowledged as a featured artist with Drake on the song “Wait for U” in 2022 after Future sampled the voice from her song “Higher” on his track.
She became the first African artist to debut at number one and the second Nigerian artist to top the chart when it debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100. She won the Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance for the song.
For the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever album, which was released in July 2022, Tems covered Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry.” The same month, “Free Mind,” a song from Tems’s debut EP, had its Hot 100 debut.
Tems has won numerous awards over the course of her career, including a Grammy, two NAACP Image Awards, two BET Awards, and two Soul Train Music Awards. She also collaborated with Rihanna on the song “Lift Me Up,” which led to nominations for both the Golden Globe and the Academy Awards for Best Original Song.
Tems Facts
Early life
Temilade Openiyi was born on June 11, 1995, in Lagos, Nigeria, to a Nigerian mother and a British-Nigerian father. After her parents’ divorced, Temilade traveled from Nigeria to the UK shortly after birth before returning to Nigeria at age 5. Tems lived in Ilupeju first, then moved to Lekki and finally Ajah.
Tems received her secondary education at Dowen College and her post-secondary study at Monash South Africa. She picked up the piano at school when her music teacher recognized her. She sang along with her brother while they practiced, frequently with him playing guitar.
Tems Career
Tems left her employment in 2018 to focus on her music career. She started learning self-production techniques on YouTube, and on July 18, 2018, she published “Mr Rebel,” her debut single, which she produced herself. She released the single “Try Me” on August 7, 2019.
She was chosen by DJ Edu as one of the “ten musicians to watch” in 2020. On April 23, 2020, Tems and fellow Nigerian musician Davido appeared on a remix of “Know Your Worth,” a song by English electronic duo Disclosure and American singer-songwriter Khalid.
For Broken Ears, Tems’ first extended play, was released on September 25, 2020. It was mostly her who produced it, and the EP’s lead track, “Damages,” which peaked at number one on the Nigerian Apple Music list, number six on the then-recently formed TurnTable Top 50 chart, and garnered five million views on YouTube, becoming another follow-up hit to “Try Me.
” Tems made an appearance on fellow Nigerian musician Wizkid’s single “Essence,” taken from Wizkid’s fourth studio album, Made in Lagos, on October 30, 2020. The song gave her her first career entrance on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 9, as well as the top place on the BBC 1Xtra Airplay Chart.
Tems was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Global Music Performance, won two NAACP Image Awards, and received a Soul Train Music Award. Tems was a member of The Future Awards Africa: Class of 2020 on November 8, 2020.
A new version of “Essence,” including a cameo from Canadian singer Justin Bieber, was released on August 13, 2021. This helped the song climb to number nine on the Billboard Hot 100.
Tems was a featured artist on Drake’s song “Fountains” from his sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy, which debuted at number 26 on the Hot 100, on September 3, 2021.
After signing with RCA records, Tems released her second extended play, If Orange Was a Place, on September 15, 2021. The single “Crazy Tings,” which was released five days earlier and reached its peak at number three on the UK Afrobeats Singles Chart, was mostly produced by GuiltyBeatz. Later, Tems topped both the Billboard Emerging Artists chart and the Billboard Next Big Sound chart.
Big Breakthrough
Leading Vibe Radio Show With Tems officially launched on March 31, 2022, on Apple Music 1. Muyiwa Awoniyi and Tunji Balogun make an appearance in the show’s opening episode on April 2.
Tems and Drake were both featured on Future’s single “Wait for U,” off of Future’s eighth studio album, I Never Liked You, which was released on April 29, 2022.
Tems became the first African female artist to top the chart and especially to debut at the top of the chart when the song debuted at the top of the Hot 100. The song uses a sample of For Broken Ears’ “Higher” song.
Tems recorded Bob Marley’s No Woman, No Cry in July 2022 for the soundtrack of the next Marvel film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
With the release of her song “Free Mind” from For Broken Ears on the Hot 100 list on July 26, Tems earned her fourth Hot 100 entry. Tems’ appearance as a guest artist on Beyoncé’s album Renaissance was confirmed in July 2022.
She worked with Grace Jones on the song “Move,” which became her seventh Hot 100 entry. She co-wrote Rihanna’s song “Lift Me Up” for the soundtrack to Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which was released in October 2022.
The song “Lift Me Up” from the movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever received a nomination for “Best Original Song – Motion Picture” at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards from Tems, Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, and Ryan Coogler.
Tems, Future, and Drake won the Grammy in 2023 for “Wait for UBest “‘s Melodic Rap Performance. Tems became the first female musician from Nigeria to win a Grammy as a result.
Tems Artistry
When Tems was a child, her mother would only let her listen to Christian music. Later in her adolescence, she developed a taste for R&B and hip-hop music.
She listened to Beyoncé, Lil Wayne, Destiny’s Child, and Aaliyah, and performed a live cover of “If I Ain’t Got You,” an Alicia Keys song from 2004.
She had a similar interest in artists when she was younger, including Burna Boy, Lauryn Hill, Adele, Rihanna, Coldplay, Paramore, and Asa.
In quest of her own personality, she stopped listening to other musicians when she was 15 years old. “I wanted to learn how to tackle a song from what I was feeling, not what Beyoncé would do or anyone else,” she said. Her voice has been compared to silky, androgynous, deep voice.
Tems legal problems
Following their performance in an event in Uganda on December 14, 2020, Tems and fellow Nigerian musician Omah Lay were both taken into custody.
The two musicians believed they were set up, despite the Ugandan police authorities citing a violation of COVID-19 lockdown regulations as the basis for their detention.
The Ugandan government released them, expressed regret for the arrests, and dropped the accusations two days later.
Tems Awards and nominations
Tems’ work to Future’s “Wait For U,” which also features Drake, made her the first female Nigerian musician to ever win a Grammy award on February 5, 2023.