This week in Single Ladies: Megan Thee Stallion made Forbes history. On Dec. 2, Latto and GloRilla’s new single, “FTCU” sent fans into a frenzy, while new female rappers made their mark in the industry. Megan Thee Stallion Shows No Signs Of Slowing Down Last week, the Houston hottie was honored with gracing the cover […]
This November, Tems’ cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” will appear on the soundtrack of Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. A portion of her cover appeared in a trailer for the movie, which was revealed in July, and an EP containing the song was released shortly after. This weekend, Tems performed the song live for the first time at Global Citizen Festival in Ghana.
Joined by a backing band, Tems is seen in a fan-shared clip singing the song with her vocals just about matching the quality of those on the studio recording. The crowd mirrors her energy, particularly as she gets to the bridge, singing along, as Tems repeats, “everything’s gonna be alright, everything’s gonna be alright.”
Tems has come a long way in the past five years. In an interview with GQ UK, she revealed that in 2017, the year before she released her debut single, “Mr. Rebel,” she was living alone and struggling financially.
“There were times when I was not just broke – I was broke and hopeless,” she said. “I used to steal food. I used to go to my aunty’s house just so she could give me food to take home,” she says. “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.”
Over the course of the past year, she’s collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, including Drake, Future, and Beyoncé. Not to mention, she’s contributed to the soundtrack of one of the year’s most anticipated films.
Check out the performance of “No Woman, No Cry” above.
>Black Panther: Wakanda Forever arrives in theaters 11/11.
Tems was very humble about her experiences working with the aforementioned artists. “Everybody I said I would work with, I’ve worked with. Wiz, Drake,” she said. “Every single person.” While many new artists may look to regularly remind listeners of their musical co-signs, Tems told Hans that she has been working on new music about “finding balance and finding your feet in a new life.” Hans added, “She is trying to find peace through the chaos of her new existence.”
Said chaos has to do with being away from home. Tems told Hans that she hadn’t been to her home city of Lagos since the new year began. “I miss everything. I miss the food. I miss my family, I miss my mum. I miss the atmosphere,” she said, adding that she’s been so busy that she doesn’t have time for romance.
As the “Free Mind” artist wraps up her tour, she’ll take a break in London, where she moved as a baby, while she finishes up her upcoming debut studio album.
There’s no denying that Rihanna is a global superstar and any words of advice from her are sure to juice up any artist on the rise. Tems, the Nigerian singer most notable for her vocals on Wizkid’s “Essence,” is a bit more than just an emerging act, though. “Essence” has propelled Tems to a path that could lead to massive Rihanna-like heights. She was featured on Beyoncé’s Renaissance alongside Grace Jones and Bey on “Move,” and was recognized as the Best International Act at the 2022 BET Awards. But none of this seems to go to her head; she’s chill AF. In fact, a new feature in GQ UK bears the headline “Tems Is Way Too Chill.” But Rihanna is here to help her with rising to the occasion.
When speaking about the grandeur of being on “Move” alongside to icons in Beyoncé and Jones, Tems comes across as humble and grateful. But then professes that while, “Of course it means something to me,” she explains that, “I just have this chill thing going on,” which keeps her grounded. But when she met Rihanna at the “We Found Love” singer’s Savage x Fenty show in Los Angeles last year, Rihanna was direct with Tems about embracing her soaring stardom, saying, “‘You need to be that b*tch you know you are.”
How does one even manage to process that coming from Rihanna? Something tells us that Tems, who has since notched a song on the Wakanda Forever soundtrack and put out the track “Wait For U” with Drake and Future earlier this year, is already taking the advice in stride.
The Grammy Award-winning rapper and producer has collaborated with several artists throughout his two-decade career, from up-and-comers to established heavy-hitters. Though he may be one of the most polarizing figures of our time, he certainly has a great ear when it comes to music.
Oh his Instagram today, he posted a screenshot of a music player playing “Church Girl” from Beyoncé’s seventh studio album, Renaissance. He captioned the post, saying “Favorite song on Beyoncé album.”
Instagram/kanyewest
In the next post, he shared the title track from DJ Khaled’s 13th album, God Did, which features Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, and a four-minute verse from Jay-Z. In the post’s caption, he deemed the song, “Song of the year next to Wait For You,” presumably referring to Future and Drake’s collaboration, “Wait For U.”
Instagram/kanyewest
In the following post, he shared “Essence” by Wizkid and Tems, which he deemed the “Best song in the history of music to date.”
Instagram/kanyewest
Closing out the series of posts, he shared “Fortunate,” a collaboration with The Game from his most recent album, Drillmatic: Heart Vs. Mind.
Instagram/kanyewest
“Need to shoot a video,” he said in the post’s caption. “Me [and] game have never missed like literally have never missed. Just like me and Pusha.”
Ye’s ear for music drives him toward perfection. In a recent interview, producer Mike Dean revealed West scrapped an album’s worth of material while working on Ye in 2018.
