Tems

Tems is the stage name used by Lagos based singer-songwriter Temilade Openiyi. Her music mixes the syncopated beats of Afrofusion (aka Afrobeats, with an s), Caribbean and Latin music, adding an occasional bossa nova swing here and there. Her music is quite polished, with a crisp presentation that pulls from well-established suave pop tradition in the Sade mold. She sings with a husky voice that is strong and expressive and in the Nigerian-English creole that also adds a special flavor to her songs. Her vocals are usually central to her music, with her melodies closely following the stylistic flourishes and melodic flow of traditional R&B.