- Tems, a Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, has revealed that Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Drake contacted her within three days in 2020.
- In a recent interview with BigBoy TV, the 29-year-old singer shared her journey to stardom.
- Tems reported that Beyoncé’s team contacted him, followed by direct messages from Drake and Rihanna.
Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, widely known as Tems and a Grammy award winner, disclosed that within a span of three days in 2020, she was contacted by Beyoncé, Rihanna, and Drake.
In a recent interview with BigBoy TV, the 29-year-old artist reflected on her rise to fame. She mentioned that she first received communication from Beyoncé’s team, which was soon followed by direct messages from both Drake and Rihanna.
Describing the experience as “surreal,” Tems expressed that it felt as though she were in a dream. She recounted, “When I met Wizkid, I had only three songs. We recorded ‘Essence’ in 2019, it came out in 2020 and I released my EP during the pandemic,”.
“I didn’t imagine that I would become this big thing. We did ‘Essence’ and things started going off. I started getting messages. Beyoncé reached out in 2020 and my mind was blown. I was like God, what’s going on?
“Because I lived alone throughout the whole time I was in school and when I had a job, I was alone and I was really to my thoughts a lot.
“Beyoncé’s team reached out and I got DMs from people that I looked up to. Other artistes like Drake and Rihanna. These are people that influenced culture very much so for the past 10 years or more. These are people that are very respectable in the industry.
“I was in Nigeria when I got their messages. I was in my house alone when I got everything. In fact I got their messages within three days of each other.
“It felt like something crazy was happening, like it wasn’t real and I was dreaming. I felt like I was being pranked.”
Tems rose to prominence in 2020 through her collaboration with Wizkid on the track ‘Essence.’ That same year, she released her debut extended play (EP) titled ‘For Broken Ears.’ In 2022, she collaborated with Rihanna, contributing to the writing of ‘Lift Me Up,’ a celestial ballad for the ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ soundtrack.
Tems has since garnered numerous awards and set multiple records.
Tems achieved a significant milestone last year by winning her inaugural Grammy award for her contribution to the 2022 hit song “Wait for U,” performed by Future and featuring Drake.
On June 7, she released her debut album titled “Born In The Wild.”
This 18-track album features collaborations with Afrobeats artist Asake and American rapper J. Cole.
The album includes tracks such as “Born In The Wild,” “Special Baby,” “Burning,” “Wickedest,” “Love Me Jeje,” “Get It Right,” “Ready,” and “Gangsta.”
Additional songs on the album are “Unfortunate,” “Boy o Boy,” “Forever,” “Free Fall,” “Voices In My Head,” “Turn Me Up,” “Me & U,” “T-Unit,” “You In My Face,” and “Hold On.”
Prior to the album’s release, Tems unveiled two singles, “Me & U” and “Love Me Jeje.” She initially gained recognition with her self-produced debut single “Mr Rebel” in 2018, followed by her successful 2019 track “Try Me.”
Notably, her song “Love Me Jeje” was recently included in the summer playlist curated by former US President Barack Obama.