Singer, Temilade Openiyi, aka Tems, recently launched a project called ‘Leading Vibe Radio’ on Apple Music 1, and many of her fans are excited to experience it. She will co-host the show with her brother, Adetunji Paul; and manager, Muyiwa Awoniyi.
In an interview with Apple Music, the singer stated that the phrase, ‘leading vibe’, came to her in a song. She said, “I don’t know why or how that phrase came into my song. Afterwards, I realised that it came for a reason. It really is what it says— leading the vibe and creating opportunities for people, creating an alternative, and helping people navigate life. It is (about) helping people to become leaders, helping them to find their voices, their own sound, their own thing; and to get the best of life. It is really aimed at talking about real things, shining a light on women, artistes and creatives that are finding their way. Africa is the source, so pay attention. There are many ‘leading vibes,’ and it’s about all of us collectively coming together to lead the vibe. That is Africa to the world.”
The singer also stated that at a point in her life, she had no self-worth. She said, “I would call myself confident. I think when one has a certain level of awareness, one cannot not be. It’s like if the lion realises it’s a lion, what is the reason for it to act like a rat? That’s not even an option. I feel like the more one realises who one is, the more confident one is because one knows what’s important. Nothing else matters. However, I have not always been confident. I think as children, we are all confident. I think we’re born into this world full of new adventures, and we just go into them, and do things. I think, along the way, life happened. There was a time I had no self-worth or value, or I genuinely believed I was meant to be the mat that people stepped on.
“When I was in school I couldn’t eat in public. I was not someone that people liked. And I was like, “If my presence is bothering people, I’m just going to move away. I’m just going to do my thing and find what I like.”
On the misconception some people have that she is from a rich background, Tems said, “I am just sending big love to my mum because of who she is. She stopped at nothing (to take care of us). We could not afford to go to the school we went to (because it was expensive). Everybody in that school knew we were not rich. My mum was the doctor of the school clinic. We thank God that we don’t look like what we went through.”
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