Nigerian singer and songwriter Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has opened up about her dedication to her musical path and her strategies for managing achievements.
In a recent feature by Interview Magazine with American rapper Kendrick Lamar, Tems openly admitted her readiness to confront substantial obstacles while shifting from the globally renowned Afrobeat genre to explore R&B.
She revealed that her primary focus remains centered on sharing her artistic expression and that monetary gain holds minimal importance to her.
“I just want to make this music. I want to make music that makes me pull my heart out, and if I can’t do that, I don’t want anything. I would rather do that and be broke than compromise. I didn’t really care about the money. It’s not that money is bad. Money is very good. But for me, even right now, I’m chasing a frequency,” she disclosed.
Tems, despite numerous people advising her to pursue Afrobeats, felt that the genre did not match the emotional intensity she was looking for. In retrospect, she looks at the advice she got from others at the time of her decision.
“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.’ 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. Everyone I asked for advice was like, “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.” And that’s not a lie, and it’s not a bad thing. But I felt in my heart that that’s okay. I’m okay with no one liking it, I just want to make this music.” she stated.