Nigerians have poured encomiums on sensational and award-winning singer, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as TEMS, for achieving another feat of being listed in TIME Magazine’s NEXT 100 in 2023.
According to TIME Magazine, the chart-topping young Nigerian musician was named as one of the people “who have achieved peak influence in their fields” in the 2023 TIME’s Next 100 list published on Wednesday.
Also, award-winning American singer, Mary J. Blige, who wrote a piece for The TIME, compared TEMS to legendary musician Nina Simone, saying they both share features such as abilities to “sing with emotion and conviction”.
The ‘No more Drama’ iconic singer believes that the Nigerian sensation will one day become one of the biggest artistes of her time.
Blige wrote, “Tems is in a class all by herself because no other artist sounds like her. That voice is so unique and original, so much so that it reminds me of the first time I heard Nina Simone. They both sing with emotion and conviction, making you feel every word they sing.
“When Tems and I finally had a chance to meet last year at the Grammy Awards, we just exploded on each other, giving each other so much love. I know she will make it far because she’s a talented writer, singer, and producer—my only hope for her is that she becomes one of the biggest artists of her time.”
Nigerians like the music critic and historian, Isaac Daniel, has commended Tems on this feat, adding that she has become one of Nigeria’s global ambassadors in music and reflecting the greatness and huge potential that the nation’s human resources and the youth particularly possesses if channeled productively.
“I want to congratulate Tems for this great feat, being listed among TIME’s Magazine NEXT 100. This is no mean feat as her career and music repertoire has been on the upward sing. She reflects the huge potential that the creative sector and our youths can offer Nigeria if when channeled productively,” said Daniels.
Abay Esho, a movie director, talent coach and musician, has also penned his accolades, saying Tems reflects the glory of Nigerian youths and urged the authorities to create enabling environment for the millions of youths desirous of carving a career in the creative industry.
“I am not surprised at Tems’s rise as I have watched her from a distance. Her voice texture and work ethic which shows her hunger to do things differently has been on display. In this times, when we mourn Mohbad, another talent who died controversially, we are consoled that Tems has given us something to cheer about. As a stakeholder in the music industry having released the music hit of the early 2000s, ‘One Day One Day Ego better’, I have watched the music sector grow, take two steps backward on account of negative elements like piracy and giant steps forward noted by the rise of afropop and what we know as afrobeats genre now, honed by our great music stars which has Tems as one of the glowing and leading lights,” said Osho.
Tems, aged 28, rose to prominence after being featured on Wizkid’s 2020 single “Essence”, which peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the release of the remix version with Justin Bieber. The song earned her a Grammy Award nomination and that same year, Tems was featured on the song “Fountains” by Drake.
Tems did thr cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack album in July 2022 and in the same month, her song “Free Mind” from her debut EP which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100.
She co-wrote the song “Lift Me Up” by Rihanna, which earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
Another Nigerian on TIME’s list is Nigerian tech founder, Wemimo Abbey, who made the list alongside co-founder Samir Goel, for their startup, Esusu, which helps immigrants “build credit in America by reporting tenants’ on-time rent payments to credit bureaus.”
Abbey and Goel also expressed their commitment to broadening the company’s financial services in order “to help reduce the racial wealth gap”.
Other Nigerians on the list include founder and CEO of health start-up, Cityblock Health, Dr. Toyin Ajayi, who was also applauded for “addressing social drivers of poor health and creating sustainable change for vulnerable communities.”
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