Ever since her debut in 2018, Tems has had one of the fastest rises to stardom. Her first couple of songs – ‘Mr. Rebel’, ‘Try Me’, ‘Looku Looku’, and ‘These Days’ were received well, not only because of her vocal artistry but also because of the production and songwriting. Currently signed to American record label, RCA, Tems has had to work hard for her success. The first song she released was self-produced. The recent wins have not slowed her down.
It is just the first half of the year and Tems has been able to achieve things that take other artists years if not decades to achieve.
Here is a list of some of those achievements.
Future Feature
- In his ninth studio album, Future features several talented artists including Tems.
- In the second official single from the album, ‘Wait for U’, Drake raps a verse and Tems sings the chorus and titular title.
- Tems’ vocals in Future’s song are a sample from her 2020 song, ‘Higher’.
- The song debuted at number 1 of the Hot 100, making Tems the first African female artist to debut on and top the chart.
Coca-Cola Campaign
- In May, Tems shared a Coca-Cola campaign on her social media.
- Tems along with other artists from around the world made an ad for the new version of the Coke Studio initiative geared toward connecting emerging musical talent.
- The artists came together to cover British rock band Queen’s 1986 song, ‘A Kind of Magic’.
- While each artist recorded the song solo, the ad is captured in a two-minute film titled ‘The Conductor’.
- The campaign was a collaboration with Universal Music Group and its artists creating a music platform for the biggest music platform for emerging talents.
- The latest model of the program – which started in Pakistan in 2008 and is now available in Africa and the Philippines – has a more global goal.
BET Awards
- Tems was nominated three times at the 22nd BET Awards. The categories; Best new artist, best collaboration, and best international act.
- She won two of the three awards – best collaboration for her work with Wizkid on his track, ‘Essence’ and best international act beating out Fireboy DML, Little Simz, and several other artists.
Black Panther trailer
- The sequel to the 2018 film ‘Black Panther’ is scheduled to be released on November 11. ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ was announced back in 2018 but faced delays with the pandemic and the tragic loss of its leading star – Chadwick Boseman.
- In the first teaser trailer released on July 24, Tems’ voice can be heard. Her cover of Bob Marley’s ‘No Woman, No Cry’ was used to score the trailer.
Renaissance
- Tems has been credited on Beyonce’s upcoming album, Renaissance.
- The 10th track, ‘Move’, has Temilade Openiyi credited as one of the writers.
- The album is scheduled to be released on July 29.
Billboard Hot 100
- In September 2020, Tems released her debut EP, ‘For Broken Ears’.
- The third track on the EP, ‘Free Mind’, was produced by Tems and Omeiza.
- On July 25, 2022, ‘Free Mind’ debuted on the Billboard Hot 100.
- Almost two years after its release, the buzz around Tems made an old song chart.