Why I love Tems to death – Wizkid finally confesses

Grammy-winning Nigerian music star, Ayo Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid has eulogized rising music star Temilade Openiyi, aka Tems.

Wizkid referred to Tems as a special talent, noting that she’s in his top three artistes.

Wizkid hailed the artiste during an interview with Apple Music to commemorate his Apple Music Award for Artiste of the Year (Africa).

He spoke on the success of his album, ‘Made In Lagos,’ the success of’ ‘Essence’ and his admiration for Tems.

On ‘Essence’ Wizkid said the song made him feel better every time, revealing his admiration for Tems. “So when that record dropped, what it did for me was what it did for the people. It made me feel better every time I listen to the song. So it’s just a great record, man. Great record. And I love Tems to death. She’s a special, special talent. She’s like my top three,” he said.

The music star said on his influence on music, he does not know what he has done but feels people are tired of listening to the same thing and are more open to African content.

“I don’t see it like that. I don’t think I’m the first through it. I don’t know what I did, but it just kicked the door open. I feel like everyone’s about to come through right now. There’s about to be loads of records from Africa. That feels good because the truth is, people are tired of listening to the same sh**. They want some real sh**.

Wizkid was named Artiste of the Year award for African region in the Apple Music Awards 2021.

Listing Wizkid’s achievement on the music company, Apple said, “In October 2020, he released Made in Lagos, his critically acclaimed and most commercially successful album, which included his hit song “Essence,” a track that gained 125 million plays on Apple Music and over 2.8 million Shazams.

Wizkid began recording music at the age of 11 and released a collaborative album with the Glorious Five, a group he and a couple of his church friends formed.

In 2021, Tems earned two US top 40 entries on the Billboard Hot 100, with her collaboration with Drake on the song “Fountains” from his album Certified Lover Boy, and the Wizkid single “Essence”; the latter of which reached the top ten following a remix with Justin Bieber, and earned her a Grammy Award nomination.

In the same year, Tems was ranked number one on the Billboard Next Big Sound chart and number-five on the Billboard Emerging Artist chart. In September 2021, Tems was signed to RCA records, and released her second EP If Orange Was a Place, which reached the top ten on the Billboard World Albums chart.