Tems: The alternate music artiste on the rise
If you are a keen follower of the Nigerian music industry, you will delight in the growing number of talented female artistes, especially in the genres, hitherto dominated by their male counterparts.
These aspiring acts, who are aptly referred to as the ‘new revelations’ are truly giving the male folks a run for their money.
One of these new revelations is Tems. The artiste, whose real name is Temilade Openiyi, and who stages as Tems, is a fast rising Nigerian alternative R&B singer, songwriter and ambitious record producer.
The ‘cool chick’ began producing her songs at age 20 and in 2018, she released her debut single titled, ‘Mr Rebel’, which instantly put her on the map as one of Nigeria’s most exciting musical voices.
After the success of a single release, in 2019, she released a single titled ‘Looku Looku’, which showed music pundits that there is a rising star to look out for.
Yet again, in August 2019, the pioneering artiste and Lagos Island native released ‘ Try Me’, another hit single, which truly established her trademark alternative R&B and neo-soul sound, birthing both global interest and a bedlam of excitement.
Not resting on her oars, on September 18, 2020, Tems released the first single, ‘Damages’ of her debut EP (extended play) titled ‘For Broken Ears’, the video was released September 24, 2020, while the entire EP was released on September 25, 2020 on all platforms.
As expected, her sustained efforts earned her mainstream recognition and awareness within a short time in her budding career.
Also, there has been heavy social media presence and incredible views on her musical projects. One of the laudations and admirations came from Pitchfork, an American online music publication, which noted that, ‘’She is a star and every single makes this fact more clear’’.
As well, The Fader, an American music, style and culture magazine, also believes that, ‘’Though she just has a handful of released songs, the singer has quickly become one of her country’s shining stars with a voice that’s hard to resist’’.
Of course, Tems has collaborated with a number of artistes including; Wizkid, Khalid, Show Dem Camp, Lady Donli, Black Magic, Mannywellz, DRB Lasgidi and Odunsi (the engine).
Top among the collaborations was in April 2020 when Tems broke new grounds as Khalid featured her alongside Davido on the remix to his single, ‘Know Your Worth’.
Considering the over three million views on her body of work and plaudits from international musical authorities, the young singer, songwriter and producer is not afraid of brandishing her alternate R&B sounds, a fusion of neo-soul and colours of home with traditional Nigerian sounds.
If you follow her music, you will observe that she shines through with fresh sounds that are reflections of alternative R&B, Neo-soul and a sprinkle of the traditional Nigerian flavour.
For instance, ‘ Damages’, her hit single, featured sounds that are sweetly intimate, yet global in nature.
In the single, which was produced by Spax, Tems embraced the youth culture, engaging drums, instrumentals, and making it an easy listen for all music lovers.
She honed her music production skills with ‘For Broken Ears’ EP, which she served six beautiful tracks, as well as, produced four out of the six tracks.
Commenting on her music, she explained that, ‘’The world is currently in a very difficult place and I understand the role music plays in it. I made For Broken Ears for the purpose of healing. A lot of minds have been broken due to what people have heard over time, but I hope this EP offers an avenue for true cleansing”.
So far, her efforts have earned her recognistions, music tours and nominations, especially the ‘ Best Alternative Song’ & ‘ Best Vocal Performance’ at the 2019 Headies awards.