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Tems VibeZ

Tems has one of the most recognisable voices in the world after roughly five years of making records. Thirty-one tracks explain how a Lagos singer with a low, smoky alto rearranged global pop.

The voice that made everyone else adjust

Temilade Openiyi grew up between Lagos and Ilesha, taught herself production, and released her earliest singles independently. The voice was the whole argument from the start: a dark, unhurried alto with an unusual amount of air in it, phrased so far behind the beat that it can take a bar to work out where the downbeat is.

The international breakthrough came through features. "Essence" with Wizkid became the first Nigerian song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and effectively opened American radio to Afrobeats. Then came "Fountains" with Drake, a writing credit on Beyoncé's "Move," a Grammy for "WAIT FOR U" with Future and Drake, and an Oscar nomination for "Lift Me Up" from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which she co-wrote with Rihanna and Ryan Coogler.

Very few artists have gone from local independent releases to that list in five years, and fewer have done it without changing anything about how they sing.

What to listen for

"Essence" is the historically important one, but "Free Mind" is the better record — a slow, spiritual song that became a sleeper hit years after release, largely by word of mouth.

"Damages," "Try Me"-era material and "Higher" show her own writing at its most direct. "Vibe Out" and "Replay" are the loosest.

"Found" with Brent Faiyaz pairs two singers who both specialise in sounding slightly disengaged, to strong effect. "Too Bad" with Show Dem Camp and Amaarae is the deepest cut and one of the best.

Her "No Woman No Cry" is worth its own listen — covering Marley is a trap, and she avoids it by refusing to raise her voice at any point.

Go deeper

Born in the Wild (2024) is the debut album and the fullest statement — more live instrumentation and more songwriting ambition than the EPs.

She produces much of her own material, which is unusual and under-discussed. Worth listening for.

For the wider scene: Wizkid's Made in Lagos is the album "Essence" came from and one of the defining African records of the century. Amaarae is the most adventurous artist working nearby. And for the low-alto lineage Tems belongs to, Sade and Nina Simone are the obvious names, however often they get invoked.

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