I Was Ready To Die For R&B – Tems

Famed Nigerian singer/songwriter, Temilade Openiyi, known professionally as Tems, has opened up about how she was prepared to face any consequences including death, in order to pursue her passion for R&B music.

In a exclusive interview with popular American rapper, Kendrick Lamar, published in the latest volume of Interview Magazine, the ‘Essence’ hitmaker divulged that she was ready to make the ultimate sacrifice when she decided to establish herself as an R&B artist rather than doing Afrobeats. According to her, she just wanted to get a message out, adding that she so much believed in herself that she didn’t bother if she never become ‘anything or anyone’ with R&B.

The 2023 Grammy award-winning crooner, detailed that, ”I was prepared to die. I believed in myself so much that I didn’t really care if I never became anything or anyone. I just wanted to get a message out. I wanted to get my frequency out. And I was like, ‘Even if ten people hear this, it’s fine.’ But also along the way, I used to listen to a lot of Nigerian music and I wasn’t getting a lot of spiritual.”

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She continued; ”I love Celine Dion, so, I love that intense feeling of, I’m about to jump off a cliff. That’s how I want my music to feel all the time, and Afrobeats wasn’t necessarily giving me that type of stimulation.”

Tems added that everyone she asked for advice previously, encouraged her to venture into Afrobeats.

“The only way you can do this is Afrobeats. It’s not that your music is bad, it’s just that it doesn’t fit in Nigeria. Nigerians don’t like this.” However Tems stated that she refused to give up because money was not her goal. She added that she is “chasing a frequency,” she added.