Nigerian singer-songwriter Tems’ (Temilade Openiyi) interview with Kendrick Lamar for Interview Magazine gave admirers an in-depth look into the vocalist, exhibiting her true passion for her work.
Interview Magazine published the interview on Tuesday, Aug. 29.
Although there’s no visual interview, it’s apparent that the two musicians connected on a deeper level, understanding each others’ struggles and obsessions relevant to creating music.
Tems shared that Celine Dion inspired her to pursue music, baited by the “To Love You More” singer’s movement in her lyrics and melodies and her ability to induce her audience to feel potent emotions while listening to her poignant pieces (we understand).
It was the kind of music the 28-year-old wanted to make, but music giants attempted to force her to consider what fellow Nigerians would like to hear, in which Afrobeats reigned.
But Tems knew her goal was to make R&B music and was passionate about accomplishing it, even being “prepared to die.”
“I was prepared to die,” she told Kendrick. “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.'”
The 28-year-old singer tried to get into Nigerian music but wasn’t feeling what she felt by listening to Dion.
“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.”
Although she enjoyed the money she made, she said her passion possessed more power than the desire to be seen.
Earlier in the interview, Kendrick asked how she distinguished “between Tems, the artist versus Tems, the person.”
The “Free Mind” singer stated she was both.
“I’m Tems all the time, and I’m Temilade all the time because I”m not just one thing. I don’t distinguish them because that creates a cognitive dissonance,” the “Crazy Tings” hitmaker said.
Kendrick said he could hear the passion in her voice and couldn’t wait to hear her album.
So far, Tems only has an EP (“If Orange Was A Place,” 2021) and album (“For Broken Ears,” 2020) out. It’s unclear when she’ll drop another album.
