Tems has achieved another international award at the 2023 Grammys becoming the first female Nigerian artist to win the prestigious Award.
Most of the best musicians in the world were present at the 65th Grammy Awards, which was hosted on Sunday at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
Tems received the award for her contribution to the famous song Wait For U. the award was in the category of Best Melodic Rap Performance.
The 28-year-old Afrobeats singer has added this Grammy award to the list of her achievements, winning the Africa Future Awards and the nomination for an Oscar.
Let’s discover more about the first Nigerian female artist to win the Grammy Award.
Who Is Tems?
Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, is a Nigerian female singer who is incredibly talented in the genres of Afrobeat, R&B, and Alte.
After the publication of her debut single, Mr. Rebel, which she produced herself, gained her a rise in the Nigerian music industry.
However, she gained popularity in the Nigerian music industry after releasing the follow-up song, Try Me. After releasing her debut EP, For Broke Ears in 2020, Tems quickly gained the favor of the nation’s Afrobeat lovers.
The singer has two Billboard Hot 100 chart entries. The first comes from her collaboration on the tune Essence with singer Wizkid. While the latter resulted from being featured on Fountains, one of the singles off Drake’s album, Certified Lover Boy.
Tems – Early Life
Tems was born in 1995 to Mr. and Mrs. Openiyi, a Yoruba couple. She received her British citizenship from her British-Nigerian Father.
Tems was born in the city of Lagos and was given the name Temilade Openiyil by her parents. She has an elder brother and is the second child of the family.
Her family had to move to the UK shortly after her birth. They returned to Nigeria after the divorce of her parents.
Tems started to explore various musical styles and thus she was familiar with many popular musicians and they influenced her to be a musical artist. Her high school teacher recognized her talent in music. She learned piano and guitar while studying at school.
Tems – Education
Tems had begun her primary education in the UK, but soon after they returned to Nigeria. Later, she completed her primary education at a school in Nigeria. She earned her high school degree from Dowen College in Lekki.
Tems attended a university in South Africa for her undergraduate studies. She pursued a degree in economics from the university in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Tems – Musical Career
Tems had already decided to pursue a career in music and she made the initial move by quitting listening to songs by other artists. She took this decision to find her style. As a result of this, she started making music in her manner, which gave rise to a hybrid of alte, afrobeat, and R&B.
She had begun sound production while she was studying and had started to get good at it. With the formal release of her debut single, Rebel in 2018, Tems began her dream career as a musician. This song made her popular among Nigerian music artists. Many people started to notice her talent in the alte music.
Try Me, her follow-up single released in 2019, was the one that worked the magic and instantly garnered her thousands of followers. The song was a major hit on the radio and was frequently played on stations all over the nation. Her radio success resulted in more people streaming her music on digital media.
She was later invited to collaborate with the American singer Khalid which sparked her development. Tems’s EP, Foe Broke Ears was a commercial success in Europe, America, and Nigeria.
Her international music stardom has been made possible through Essence. Due to the success of this song, she got the chance to perform with the Canadian- American rapper, Drake.
She worked with Wizkid in the same year to create the song, Essence.
Tems launched her sophomore EP, If Orange Was A Place in 2021. She signed a contract with RCA Records in the same year.
Tems – Best Songs And Albums
- For Broken Ears (2020)
- If Orange Was a Place
- Mr. Rebel (2018)
- Try Me (2019)
- Damages (2020)
- Crazy Things (2021)
- Free Mind (2022)
- No Woman No Cry (2022)
Tems – Awards And Nominations
The 28-year-old singer has won the Most Alternative Song category of the Net Honors Awards in 2021 for her song Damages.
She has won the African American Entertainment Awards in 2021 for Best Video, Best Collaboration, and Song of the Year.
Tems won the 65th Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance in 2023.
Also Read:- Zikode, Bantwini & Kellerman: 2023 Grammy Award Winners From Africa
Tems – Personal Life
Tems is one of the most prominent female artists in Nigeria. Her parents divorced when she was a child. She was raised by her mother.
She was rumored to have a relationship with Wizkid. Both of them haven’t yet confirmed the rumor. The previous relationships of the artist are mostly unknown and she is supposed to be single now.
Tems – Controversies
Following a performance at 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 Uganda police authorities citing a violation of COVID-19 lockdown regulations as the basis for their detention. Two days later, the Ugandan government released them, expressed regret for the arrests, and dropped the charges.
Tems – Net Worth
Tems is one of the most successful artists in the Nigerian music industry. She has gained a lot of followers within a short period. Besides Nigeria, Tems has global recognition.
Tems can be considered as of the wealthiest young artists in Nigeria. Her major source of money is music. The musical career helps her to earn money through brand partnerships, stage performances, and discographies royalties.
The Grammy-winning Nigerian female musician is supposed to have an estimated net worth of $2 million.
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