Famous Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, better known as Tems, has admitted that she was aware that switching from the popular afrobeat genre to R&B would have grave repercussions.
She claimed that because she had such a strong sense of self-esteem, she didn’t care if she never achieved success with the R&B genre of music.
Speaking in an interview with superstar rapper Kendrick Lamar, monitored by 1Family Radio, Tems noted that she was prepared to deal with the consequences of her choice, even death.
“I was prepared to die. 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,’’ she said.
“I wanted to get my frequency out. And I was like, Even if ten people hear this, it’s fine’. But along the way, I sued to listen to a lot of Nigerian music, and I wasn’t getting a lot of spiritual—I love Celine Dion, so I love that intense feeling of, I’m about to jump off a cliff.’’
She furthered, “That’s how I want my music to be 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 with 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. 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 broken than compromise.’’
“I really didn’t 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. There are artists I’ve loved all my life, and when they reach a certain stage, the music loses that frequency and that touch they had. And I always wondered why. Why do I have to lose touch? I don’t actually care where I end up. If I’m under a bridge and I have a way to make music, I’m going to be good.’’
“That’s what led me to meet the people who connected to that music. There was no indication that I would’ve ended up here. Nobody could have told me I would be sitting here in London speaking to you, Kendrick Lamar,’’ she said.
Source: 1Familyradio