Ester Manas dress, Nona the Label hat, Mugler earrings, Dinosaur Designs rings, Natasha Zinko and Swarovski necklaces.
Tems: Photos From the Billboard Women In Music Shoot
Written by djfrosty on March 4, 2024
In just a few years, Tems went from working a digital marketing job to becoming a globally known hit-maker who rubs shoulders with stars like Beyoncé, Rihanna and Drake — all without losing her cool or confidence. “When I make music, I don’t really think about where it’s going to end up,” she explains nonchalantly. “I just leave it all in the studio.”
To a certain extent, she doesn’t even have time to think about where her songs will end up — since once she releases them, they tend to immediately spread everywhere. Ever since she was featured on Wizkid’s 2020 smash, “Essence,” which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 a year later (with the help of a Justin Bieber remix) and earned a Grammy nod for best global music performance, the 28-year-old Nigerian artist’s rich, velvety voice has traveled far beyond the African continent and become a mesmerizing fixture in popular music. Drake put up billboards in Tems’ hometown of Lagos to announce she would be featured on his 2021 album, Certified Lover Boy; a year later, they appeared together again on Future’s Hot 100 No. 1 “Wait for U,” which samples “Higher” from Tems’ 2020 debut EP, For Broken Ears. She was one of only three featured artists on Beyoncé’s 2022 Renaissance album. And she earned Golden Globe, Academy Award and Grammy nominations for co-writing Rihanna’s 2022 comeback single, “Lift Me Up,” from the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.
Read the full story on Billboard’s 2024 Women In Music Breakthrough here.
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Image Credit: Zoe McConnell -
Image Credit: Zoe McConnell FEBEN dress, Hugo Kreit earrings, Dover Street Market sunglasses.
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Image Credit: Zoe McConnell Cameron Hancock top, My Wardrobe HQ skirt, Rick Owens boots, 4element jewelry and Dinosaur Designs bracelets.
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Image Credit: Zoe McConnell Ester Manas dress, Nona the Label hat, Mugler earrings, Dinosaur Designs rings, Natasha Zinko and Swarovski necklaces.
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Image Credit: Zoe McConnell FEBEN dress, Hugo Kreit earrings, Steven Ma heels, Dover Street Market sunglasses.
Styling by Violetta Kassapi. Hair by Sheena Adae-Amoakoh at A-Frame. Makeup by Saba Khan using Pat McGrath Beauty. Manicure by Aleyah Sansui. On-Site Production by Joel Gilgallon at JOON Creative.