Get to know about Nigerian Singer-Songwriter Tems

Nigerian singer Tems Born Temilade Openiyi was born on 11 June 1995. She has been the talk of the music scene ever since her famous collaboration with US-based artist Drake and now her record-breaking single with Wizkid, Essence that just went Platinum.

Tems is born to a Nigerian mother and a British-Nigerian father. Tems’ family moved to the United Kingdom shortly after birth. Her parents divorced when she was five. Tems relocated to Nigeria with her mother, they resided in ilupeju before moving to Lekki then Ajah. Tems attended Dowen College before proceeding to South Africa for her Tertiary education. At school, she was noticed by her music teacher and she learned the piano. She would practice singing with her brother’s guitar accompaniment and that’s how the music started.

In 2018 Tems quit her job to pursue a career in music, she recorded “Mr. Rebel”, a song of her own composition. In August 2019, she released the single “Try Me” which became a hit track. In 2020, DJ Edu chose her as one of “ten artists to watch” that year. She was recruited that year by American singer Khalid to join him and fellow Nigerian Davido on an Afrobeats remix of “Know Your Worth”.

In 2021 her career flew off after, she earned two US top 40 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, with her collaboration with Drake on the song “Fountains” from his album Certified Lover Boy, and the Wizkid single “Essence”; the latter of which reached the top ten following a remix by Justin Bieber, and earned her a Grammy Award nomination.

In the same year, Tems was ranked number one on the Billboard Next Big Sound chart and number five on the Billboard Emerging Artist chart. In September 2021, Tems was signed to RCA Records, and released her second EP If Orange Was a Place, which reached the top ten on the Billboard World Albums chart.

What’s your favorite Tems song?