Tems Biography & Net Worth (2026): Grammy, Born in the Wild, Rihanna

Tems did not have a label, a manager, or an industry connection when she released her debut single “Mr Rebel” in 2018. What she had was a voice — a low, unhurried contralto that sounded like nothing else in Nigerian music — and a clear sense of what she wanted to make. The three-track EP For Broken Ears, released independently in 2020, landed “Higher” and “Damages” in heavy rotation across Africa and caught the attention of every significant player in Afrobeats. What followed is one of the fastest rises in recent Nigerian music history.

Born on 11 June 1995 in Lagos and raised partly in the United Kingdom, Tems built her career through a combination of self-released singles, a feature on Wizkid’s “Essence” that gave her her first Billboard Hot 100 placement, and a co-writing and feature catalogue that spans Rihanna, Future, Drake, and Beyonce. Her voice, a deep contralto, is among the most distinctive in contemporary African music.

As of 2026, industry estimates place her net worth in the 8 to 12 million dollar range, rising fast on the back of a writing catalogue that generates publishing income on a scale most of her contemporaries cannot match. All such figures are estimates from public reporting, not verified personal accounts.

This profile covers her Lagos and UK upbringing, her independent debut, the “Essence” breakthrough, her Grammy wins, the Rihanna and Beyonce connections, her debut studio album Born in the Wild, and her current standing as of 2026.

Quick facts

Early life and family

Tems was born in Lagos on 11 June 1995. She is Yoruba and grew up in a middle-class Lagos household. Her parents separated when she was young and she was raised primarily by her mother. She has spoken in interviews about the difficulties of a Lagos upbringing shaped by parental absence and financial uncertainty, which informs the emotional directness of her lyrics.

She spent significant time in the United Kingdom during her teenage years, which exposed her to UK pop, R and B, and electronic music alongside the Afrobeats and gospel she had grown up with in Lagos. She attended Corona Secondary School in Lagos before the periods in the UK.

She returned to Lagos in her late teens and began writing and recording music independently. The early material was largely self-produced or produced with a small circle of Lagos-based producers, and she built a small but loyal online audience through SoundCloud and Instagram before “Mr Rebel” in 2018.

The independent debut and Try Me

Tems self-released her debut single “Mr Rebel” in August 2018, followed by “Looku Looku” in September. The songs were low-budget productions that nonetheless demonstrated a voice and a writing sensibility markedly different from the mainstream Lagos sound of that moment. She followed these with the single “Try Me” in October 2019, which became her first major Nigerian hit and the record that brought her to wider attention in Lagos industry circles.

“Try Me” charted on streaming platforms across Nigeria and in the UK West African diaspora market and was picked up by several Lagos radio stations and blog platforms. The song’s production, built around a slow, bass-heavy groove with Tems’ voice riding high above the arrangement, established the sonic template that she and her regular producers have refined across every subsequent release.

Her debut EP, For Broken Ears (September 2020), confirmed her as more than a one-hit independent artist. The EP’s five tracks were widely reviewed across Nigeria, the UK, and the United States, with her voice and the production’s restraint receiving particular attention from music journalists who had not previously engaged with Lagos-based artists at that level.

Essence and the Hot 100 breakthrough

Tems’ global tipping point came with her feature on Wizkid’s “Essence” from Made in Lagos in October 2020. The song peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 (after a Justin Bieber remix added a verse to the original), making it the first Nigerian record to chart on the Hot 100 and the first featuring a female Nigerian vocalist to reach the top 10 in the United States.

The “Essence” placement opened a major-label conversation. She signed with RCA Records in 2021 and released her second EP, If Orange Was a Place (RCA, September 2021), which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart and confirmed RCA’s investment in her as the right call.

She was arrested in Uganda in November 2020, alongside Omah Lay, after performing at a Kampala concert without the required permits. Both were released after diplomatic intervention and the charges were withdrawn. The incident temporarily derailed her promotional cycle for For Broken Ears but did not significantly affect her trajectory.

Future, Drake, Rihanna, and the writing catalogue

In May 2022, Future’s “Wait for U” sampled Tems’ vocal from “Higher” (an original track from For Broken Ears). The song, which also featured Drake, debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making Tems the first African artist to debut atop the chart. “Wait for U” won the Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 65th Grammy Awards on 5 February 2023.

In the same period, Tems co-wrote and contributed background vocals to “Lift Me Up”, the closing song of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack, performed by Rihanna. “Lift Me Up” received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, a Golden Globe nomination, and a Grammy nomination, giving Tems an extraordinary set of credits in her first major Hollywood soundtrack placement. She also covered Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” for the same Wakanda Forever soundtrack in July 2022.

Her vocal from “Higher” had also appeared on Beyonce’s Renaissance project in a sample clearance that reflected Tems’ growing status as a songwriter-artist whose catalogue was in demand at the highest level of Western popular music.

Born in the Wild and the 2025 Grammy win

Her debut studio album Born in the Wild (June 2024) arrived after four years of EPs and features. The album reached number 24 on the UK Albums Chart, number 32 in the Netherlands and Switzerland, and peaked at number 83 on the Billboard 200. Lead singles included “Love Me JeJe” (a reinterpretation of Seyi Sodimu’s 1997 Nigerian pop standard), “Me and U”, “Burning”, and “Free Fall”.

At the 67th Annual Grammy Awards on 2 February 2025, the album earned three nominations: Best Global Music Album, Best African Music Performance (for “Love Me JeJe”), and Best R and B Song (for “Burning”). “Love Me JeJe” won Best African Music Performance, giving Tems her second Grammy and making her the first Nigerian artist to win multiple Grammy Awards. The album was dedicated to her growth and the resilience of her listeners.

The Born in the Wild Tour ran through 2025 and into 2026, with dates across the United States, Europe, and Africa, including a headline slot at the Afronation festival in Porto, Portugal in July 2025 and a sold-out O2 Academy Brixton in London in September 2025. Her April 2026 collaboration with British rapper Dave, “Raindance”, reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.

Personal life

Tems is private about her personal life and has not confirmed any relationship publicly as of mid-2026. She lives between Lagos and London and has spoken about the difficulty of maintaining personal relationships given the demands of her touring and recording schedule. She has cited her faith, described broadly as Christian, as a foundation for her personal discipline.

She is close to her mother and has described her as her most important non-music support. She has spoken in interviews about finding therapy useful for managing the psychological demands of rapid international fame, and has been candid about periods of anxiety and self-doubt during the 2020 to 2022 period when she was at the same time breaking globally and dealing with the logistical and emotional weight of a major-label transition.

Awards and honours

Tems has won two Grammy Awards: Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 65th Grammys (2023) and Best African Music Performance at the 67th Grammys (2025). She is the first Nigerian artist to win multiple Grammys.

She has been named to Time magazine’s 100 Next list (2022) and appeared on the TIME 100 list of most influential people in 2023. She won the BET Award for Best New Artist in 2022. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song (for “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and for the Golden Globe Award in the same category.

She won the MOBO Award for Best R and B / Soul Act in 2022 and 2023. The Official Charts Company in the UK has her ranked as the most-charted African female artist of the 2020s in the UK, based on her Hot 100, UK Singles Chart, and UK Albums Chart placements combined.

Net worth and income

Industry estimates place Tems’ net worth in the 8 to 12 million dollar range as of 2026. The catalogue of writing and feature credits she has accumulated since 2022 (Future, Drake, Rihanna, Beyonce) generates publishing income on a scale most contemporaries do not approach. Her RCA deal, the Born in the Wild Tour, and confirmed brand partnerships with Pepsi, Calvin Klein, and Apple Music are the primary active income streams. As with all such figures, these are estimates from public reporting, not verified personal accounts.

FAQ

What is Tems’ real name?

Temilade Openiyi. She was born on 11 June 1995 in Lagos, Nigeria, and grew up partly in Lagos and partly in the United Kingdom. She is Yoruba.

How many Grammys has Tems won?

Two. Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 65th Grammy Awards on 5 February 2023, for Future’s “Wait for U” (which samples her vocal from “Higher”). And Best African Music Performance at the 67th Grammy Awards on 2 February 2025, for “Love Me JeJe” from Born in the Wild.

Did Tems write a song for Rihanna?

Yes. She co-wrote “Lift Me Up” for Rihanna, the closing song of the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack (released December 2022). The song received Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Grammy nominations, and was Rihanna’s first new music in several years.

What is Born in the Wild?

Tems’ debut studio album, released in June 2024. It reached number 24 on the UK Albums Chart and was nominated for three Grammy Awards at the 67th ceremony in February 2025, winning Best African Music Performance for the single “Love Me JeJe”.

What is Tems’ net worth in 2026?

Industry estimates place it at 8 to 12 million dollars, rising fast on the back of her Grammy-winning songwriting catalogue, her RCA label deal, and the Born in the Wild Tour. These are estimates from public reporting, not verified personal accounts.

Sources

• Wikipedia, Tems (biography, discography, awards)
• Grammy.com, 65th and 67th Grammy Awards
• Billboard, Tems chart history
• BBC News, Tems coverage
• TIME 100 Next 2022 and TIME 100 2023
• The Academy, Oscars 2023 Best Original Song nominations