Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, also known as Tems, recently expressed her feelings about her music’s reception in Nigeria.
In a teaser for an upcoming episode of ‘Flow with Korty,’ Tems shared that she feels her fellow Nigerians might not fully understand or appreciate her music, although she feels valued by them as a person.
She remarked, “Nigerians don’t understand my music, I don’t know if they appreciate my music but I feel appreciated as a person by Nigerians.”
She also noted the rarity of her style of music being produced by a Nigerian artist within Nigeria.
Tems Tiny Desk Concert
NPR recently featured Tems on the Tiny Desk stage, where she performed songs from her upcoming debut album, ‘Born In The Wild’.
Backed by a live band, she kicked off her performance with her single ‘Me & U’, which was nominated for Best Gospel/Inspiration song at the 2024 BET Awards.
Following that, she sang ‘Ice T’ from her debut EP ‘For Broken Ears’ and introduced an unreleased R&B track called ‘Unfortunate’ from her forthcoming album.
Tems also debuted another song from her album titled ‘Forever’, blending Cathy Funk, Jazz, and Rumba elements.
She closed her set with her latest single ‘Love Me Jeje’, sampling the classic Nigerian song by Seyi Sodimu & Shaffy Bello.
This was Tems’ second appearance on the Tiny Desk, previously performing in 2022.
Her recent performance was part of NPR’s celebration of Black Women, with Tems being one of nine Black female artists featured.
Her debut album, ‘Born In The Wild’, is set to drop on June 7, 2024, featuring 18 tracks including collaborations with Nigerian Grammy-nominated artist Asake and American hip-hop star J Cole.
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Check Out Tems’ full Tiny Desk Show below.
