Terms Biography, Age, Family, Career & Net Worth

Tems whose true name is Temilade Openiyi was born on 23 July 1996 in Lagos State Nigeria. She grew up with a single mother and had a very plain and straightforward life. She discovered her musical talent at an early age when she started singing in her church choir. She received her early primary schooling in Lagos before moving to Dowen College in Lekki. After completing her SSCE, she was admitted to study Economics in a South African institution.

Who is Tems?

Temilade Openiyi (born June 11, 1995), is a notable female artiste out of Nigeria, sitting at the crossroads of Afrobeats, R&B and Alté genres of music.

The music singer who goes by the stage name, Tems, became a phenomenon in the industry after the release of her debut track, Mr Rebel, which she self-produced.

But she garnered additional attention in the Nigerian music space after she dropped a follow-up single, Try Me. In 2020 she released her debut EP, For Broken Ears and became a fan favourite to millions of Afrobeats fans in the country.

The vocalist is a two-time Billboard Hot 100 entry. The first was for her duet with singer Wizkid on the tune Essence. The latter was due to her being featured on Fountains, one of the singles off Drake’s album Certified Lover Boy.

Growing up

Tems was born on the 11th Of June 1995 to the Yoruba family of Mr and Mrs Openiyi. Her father is British Nigerian, from whom she inherited her British citizenship. Her mum is from Nigeria, from the South West part of Nigeria.

Tems’ real name is Temilade Openiyi. Tems was born in Lagos City and raised by her parents there. She is the second born in the family with an elder brother. Shortly after her birth, the Openiyis went to the United Kingdom, however their stay in the country was short lived since her parents split. So she and her brother went back to Nigeria to live with their mum. While her father stayed in the UK.

The family first lived at Ilupeju when they came back, before transferring to Victoria Island, Lekki and Ajah successively. So she grows up quite comfortable.

Tems grew up in a Christian home. Her mother saw to it that she was exposed to a lot of gospel songs growing up. But when she got older she tried to explore different kinds of music. And that led her to songs by superstars like Aaliyah, Lil Wayne, Beyonce and Destiny’s Child.

In high school, her music teacher found out that she had a talent for music. And as a teenager she learned to play piano and guitar.

27 year old Nigerian singer,songwriter and record producer. Her name is Tems but she cleverly built herself a popular name christened Temilade Openiyi.

Tems was born and raised in Lagos State, Nigeria on June 11, 1995. Signed to Reset Industries, Human Music.

Tems Education

Tems once worked in an elementary school in the United Kingdom. When she got back to Nigeria, she went to a costly primary school for her elementary education.

She attended Dowen College, Lekki for her high school and graduated with good scores.

She did her university studies in a university in South Africa.

Born and reared in Lagos, Nigeria, Tems studied at Dowen College in Lekki, Lagos.

She obtained a degree in Economics from a University in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Tems Music Career

By the age of fifteen, Tems had already made up her mind that music would be her career. And to make this ambition come true, she did the first step to quit listening to other musicians.

She did it to find her own style.” So she started making music in her own way and from this was born a style which is a blend of Alté, Afrobeats and R&B.

She had entered the sound production field while in the university and began to learn the skill. The reason for mastering the expertise was to build beats for her own tunes.

Tems officially began her music career in 2018 with the premiere single, Rebel, which beats she had produced. Rebel helped launch her to the Nigerian music scene and many people noticed she was a good Alté artist.

But it was her follow up single Try Me that struck the magic and garnered her thousands of followers immediately. The song was a hit on radio , with continual airing on radio stations all across the country . Success on radio led to more streams on digital music platforms. Try Me was launched August 2019.

Tems has a distinctive voice in the industry and American musician Khalid invited her for a collaboration. She accepted the request which led to the remix of the hit Know Your Worth. The remix also had another Nigerian artist, Davido.

On the 25th of September 2020, Tems bowed to the wishes of her admirers and wrapped up her inaugural endeavor. The EP, For Broken Ears, produced by Tems, was a financial triumph in Nigeria, North America and Europe. Damages, the lead single from the project, was a fan favorite and took her success with Try Me to another level.

That same year she worked with Wizkid on Essence the most successful single off his Made In Lagos Album. Thanks to Essence, Tems is now a global music star.

Her contribution to the blockbuster tune won her a number one on BBC 1Xtra Airplay Chart, a Billboard Hot 100, a Soul Train Music Award, two NAACP Image Awards and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Global Music Performance.

Success with Essence led to a collaboration with Canadian-American singer and rapper Drake. She was featured on a tune called Fountain from Drake’s Certified Lover Boy album. Fountain helped Tems snag her second Billboard Hot 100.

Nearly a year after releasing her debut effort, Tems has published her sophomore EP, If Orange Was A Place. It was produced by Guilty Beatz and released under RCA Records and has the commercially successful track, Crazy Tings . Earlier that year she had signed a recording contract with the publishing business.

Tems began her musical journey at age 9 in a school choir, and at 13, she took music full shot.

In her 20s she became a record producer establishing herself as a household figure to reckon on.

Tems track “Mr. Rebel” went on to become a huge smash establishing her as one of the top Nigerian Fast Rising artists to watch out for.

Another record by Tems that shot her into the spotlight was “Try Me.” The single was favorably welcomed around the world.

Music aficionados make a comparison between her and Burna Boy by Tems track Mr. Rebel. It also earned her numerous award nominations including; Best Vocal Performance (Female) and Best Alternative Song at The Headies 2019.

Tems Personal Life

Tems is known as one of the top five female superstars in Nigeria together with other female prominent singers like Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, and Simi.

The singer’s parents split up when she was five. She’s close to her mom and brother. If she isn’t composing music in the studio or playing at shows, she likes to spend time by herself in her apartment or visiting her mother’s house.

Tems was initially working in the corporate world before abandoning her job to pursue music full time. The singer says she looks forward to performers like Lauryn Hill, Burna Boy, Asa and Adele in the industry and that pushed her to accomplish more as an artist.

In December 2020, Tems and another Nigerian artist Omah Lay were detained by the Ugandan Authorities for singing live at a gig in the country, disobeying the Covid-19 prevention rules set by the government. The cops held them in custody for two days and then released them.

The artist, Tems, is unmarried, but there are speculations that she is dating Wizkid. She has opted to keep it private and the public does not know the facts of her past relationships.