I was once broke that I had to steal food to survive – Tems recounts past struggles

Idolized singer and songwriter, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems has recounted how she had to steal and hustle for her daily meal for survival.

The singer, Tems recounted her past life during an interview with GQ magazine.

She stated that she was not just struggling to survive at that period of her life, but she was also broke and hopeless.

She revealed that she used to visit an aunt to get food which she would then take home.

In her words;

“There were times when I was not just broke; I was broke and hopeless. I used to steal food. I used to go to my aunty’s house just so she could give me food to take home.

I just felt like, What is the point of me existing right now? You have to remember those times. Because that person does not exist anymore.”

Speaking further, Tems said that the year she released “Mr. Rebel”, she was living alone and struggling financially, noting that she was putting pressure on herself to assist with providing for her family.

According to her, she had to quit her job to focus on music and this made things even harder as she was not getting any income that would make her able to cater to her people.

She said that she had to go on a journey of self-discovery and growth to achieve her dreams of building a successful music career.

She said

“The decision I made was to not wallow in sadness and chose to stop seeing myself as “this person that can never be anything”.

“I didn’t have any self-esteem. I didn’t think I was pretty. I didn’t even think of my voice as anything. I just thought, There are so many people that can sing, I’m not a model, I don’t dance, but whatever chance I have, I’ll take it. Even if I end up singing under a bridge somewhere, I’ll be the best under-the-bridge singer ever.”