Embracing technology has helped Tems evolve her artistry.

Born Temilade Openiyi in Lagos, Nigeria, the Afrobeats R&B star had a deep passion for music from a young age — even joining a choir as a teenager — and recognized the art of making music was always more than just a side interest for her.

“The way I love music, the way I loved writing and making music, producing, it was more than a hobby,” Tems expresses on “The Breakfast Club” podcast. “It’s just something that I just genuinely enjoyed. I didn’t expect ever to make anything from it. I was just like, ‘Yeah I could do this all day. If I can get a job to sustain me, and I’ll just be doing this all day.’ Literally that was my mindset.”

 

Tems’ fire for music followed her in higher learning. She attended Monash South Africa, a university in Johannesburg, South Africa, GQ reports. In her dorm room, she continued to write songs and relied on YouTube to learn how to make beats. She also used Logic software to record and produce. This curiosity was fueled by rejections from Nigerian producers who had no interest in her vision.

After university, Tems landed a job in digital marketing in Lagos. However, her passion for music remained, and she felt unfulfilled at her job, not wanting to “live a lie anymore.”

In 2018, she quit, which concerned some of her family members.

“Back then it wasn’t common for you to be a musician. That’s not a profession anybody’s proud of in Nigeria,” she mentioned on “The Breakfast Club.”

Tems poured herself into music full-time and wrote and produced “Mr Rebel.” The debut single released the same year she left her corporate role.

The Nigerian songstress continued to remain very involved in her artistry, using technology as her breeding ground. This was also displayed when she released “Free Mind” in 2020, which would become a greater hit in 2022 when it held No. 1 for 17 consecutive weeks on Billboard’s R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.

Even Tems’ most recent project, “Born In The Wild,” which released in June 2024, features 18 songs that she engineered herself and for which she compiled her own vocals.

“I always want to do everything myself. Trust me because this album I engineered myself. I recorded myself… I comped all my vocals… I started getting help towards the end,” Tems explained on “The Breakfast Club.”

Tems has demonstrated that technology is a powerful ally in refining one’s artistry, and we’re excited to witness every step along the way.