Tems: Grammy Award as Reward for Pure Genius

By Al-Janat Firdous Mohammed

Even as we bask in the euphoria of Tems’ brilliant performance at the just concluded 65th Grammy Awards, there have been some back and forth over whether she is indeed the first Nigerian female to reach the zenith of her music career by clinching the award.

While excited Nigerian fans were giving her the above accolade, former presidential aide, Reno Omkri, drew the attention of everyone to the fact that British-Nigerian superstar, Folasade Adu, had won the Grammy Awards decades ago for her hit song “Sweetest Taboo” and the lady has never failed to emphasise her Nigerianness even though she relocated to the UK at a tender age. Reno was right on such a timely reminder.
Well, whatever it is, Tems’s superlative achievement is worth celebrating by all lovers of good music and patriotic Nigerians.

Tems broke another record for Nigerian music by defeating top performers to win her first Grammy.

Temilade Openiyi was born on June 11, 1995, in Lagos, Nigeria, to a Nigerian mother and a British-Nigerian father. After her parents’ divorce, she relocated from Nigeria to the UK shortly after birth before returning to Nigeria when she was five. 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 University in South Africa. She picked up the piano at school when her music teacher recognised the stupendous talent in her. She sang along with her brother while they practised, frequently with him playing guitar.
Tems began her singing career in her church choir in 2009.

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 search 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 a silky, androgynous, deep voice.

However, she didn’t fully begin her music career until 2018, after quitting her job and learning what she needed from YouTube.

In 2019, she got her first big break with her hit song “Try Me.”

Tems rose to fame after Future sampled her entire song “Higher” on his song “Wait for You.” The song achieved worldwide success. On the Billboard 100, it debuted at number one. Just over four years later, she has a roster of well-known worldwide musicians with whom she has collaborated.

She gained international fame due to her appearance on Wizkids 2020 single “Essence,” which reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

As the summer’s “song of the year,” it helped her fan base extend beyond Africa.

According to some reports, she has some upcoming projects with Beyonce and Rihanna.

Tems had won other numerous awards over the course of her career, 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.

Her latest song with Future, featuring Drake, made her a Grammy winner. She wrote the song and also gave a “melodic rap performance.”

They triumphed in a competitive category that included DJ Khaled and Kendrick Lamar.

When the news came out, her colleagues in the music industry such as Wizkid, Olaimide, Yemi Alade and others gave her accolades and congratulated her on her big feat.

Tems has the world under her feet and the global music industry is for her to go ahead and conquer. Nigerians will be rooting for her and supporting her in every step of the way. We definitely can’t wait to see more hit songs and collabos from her, and of course more (Grammy) awards.