About Tems

Temilade Openiyi (born 11 June 1995), known as Tems, is a Nigerian alt-R&B singer, songwriter and record producer. Temilade Openiyi was born on June 11, 1995 in Lagos, Nigeria. Born to a Nigerian mother and British father, Tems family moved to the United Kingdom shortly after birth. Her parents separated when she was five, and relocated to Ilupeju, before moving to Lekki, then Ajah. At school she was noticed by her music teacher and she learnt the piano. She would practice singing with her brother's guitar accompaniment.Sh e attended Dowen College in Lekki and studied and graduated in economics in Johannesburg. In 2018 she recorded Mr Rebel a song of her own composition. In August 2019, Tems released the single Try Me". It became a major hit and currently has over 4.6 million views on YouTube. In 2020, DJ Edu chose her as one of "ten artists to watch" that year. She was recruited that year by American singer Khalid to join him and fellow Nigerian Davido on an Afrobeats remix of Know Your Worth. Her single Damages from her For Broken Ears EP became another follow up hit to Try Me peaking at number 6 on the newly launched "TurnTable Top 50" (a Nigerian chart) and garnering 2.7 million views on YouTube. In 2020 her collaboration with Wizkid on their song Essence earned her a number one spot on BBC 1Xtra Airplay Chart as at 30 January 2021. In December 2020, Tems and fellow Nigerian artist Omah Lay were arrested in Uganda while there for a live performance for violated COVID-19 safety laws. They were later released and the charges were dropped.