Tems Quotes

It is about showing people they can be who they are truly, without the masks and pretenses. You are a human being, and you can find yourself.

Frank Ocean played a huge part; the first song that I’d heard by him was “Swim Good.” I used to also listen to Lil Wayne and Aaliyah. Lauryn Hill’s “I Gotta Find Peace of Mind” was very, very spiritual. I could feel the energy on it. Songs like those made me want to release. The songs that all of these artists sing are releases and the expression of their spirits.

It was just really crazy. I couldn't believe it. I still can't believe it. That was when I realized things have actually changed.

It was just very easy, it wasn't something I had to try for. So I understood music to be my thing and no matter what it was going to take, I had to end up in it.

It’s not necessarily people, it’s really just a system. But once you’re an artist you’re not really an artist, you’re an entertainer – your life is entertainment for people. It’s a system of distraction.

Music is my happy place. Music is the only thing that makes me feel truly at home. If I'm sad, it's the only thing I can run to. If someone says to me "here's a billion dollars, just chill" I would still do music. I mean, I'd collect the billion dollars and then do music. That's how bad it is. That's how much I love it.

I love, love, love guitars and chords. I like things that are based on the instruments I originally learned—violin, flutes. I like things that sound raw and pure. When it comes to drums, I like them very percussion-heavy and in my own way. I enjoy hard kicks and tight snares.

I think it's important to be real with yourself and the people around you.

But I wasn’t thinking about how to be better in the limelight, I was just thinking of how to be a better person in general, the best possible version of myself. And I think once you start being visible, a lot of these things that you didn’t know existed start coming to light, you start knowing yourself more, too.

I think the perfectionism is definitely a Nigerian thing. For me, it’s definitely Lagos. Because if you check around the world, Nigerians are always the best at whatever they’re doing, whether that’s braids, hair, make-up, doctors… They’ll give you food and it’ll be over good, so that when you’re paying them, you know why.

I used to write poems a lot – I’ll just sit down and write things I’m feeling, and it’ll come out so poetic, even if I’m just talking about breakfast.

I got exposed to a couple of studios, and I met a few producers and started seeing the process of music being made. It made me question, “What is this?” I’d been only exploring piano and guitar at the time, and now you’re telling me I can do more than I’m already doing?

The more power the people have, the greater we become as a whole.

I don’t want to be somebody that follows; I don’t want to be the ‘after’ person.

That sense of being an outcast continued into high school. “I just wasn’t popular; I cried a lot, I was very shy. I would cover my head with a blazer. I wouldn’t be able to talk – I just was a loner. And my only escape was the music room.