Biography

Temilade Openiyi (born 11 June 1995), known professionally as Tems, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer. She rose to prominence after she was featured on Wizkid's 2020 single, "Essence", which reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 after the release of a remixed version with an additional feature from Justin Bieber, and earned her a Grammy Award nomination. That same year, she was featured on Drake's song, "Fountains". On 25 September 2020, she released her debut extended play, For Broken Ears. Tems released her second extended play, If Orange Was a Place (2021), after being signed to RCA Records. In 2022, Tems' vocals from her song "Higher" were sampled by Future on his single, "Wait for U", which led to her being credited as a featured artist on the song. It debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first African artist to debut at number one and the second Nigerian artist to top the chart. Tems covered Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" for the Marvel movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, released in July 2022 and in the same month her song "Free Mind" from her debut EP debuted on the Hot 100. Tems became one of five notable Nigerian women who made history in the month of July, as she won a BET award. Throughout her career, Tems has received multiple award nominations, winning two NAACP Image Awards, two BET Awards and a Soul Train Music Award.