Grammy Award-winning singer Temilade Openiyi, known as Tems, has raised her concern at the treatment of women in Nigeria’s music scene.
Speaking in a recent BBC interview, Tems described how she had to struggle with not being respected as a result of being a woman in her early days as a career person. She said that such a lack of respect adds extra barriers to the path of female artistes, making it harder for them to rise and make it to the top.
“People don’t really respect women in the [music] industry,” she stated.
The Love Me Jeje artist declared that she aims to transform how women perceive themselves as musicians in music through her new initiative, The Leading Vibe Initiative. The initiative aims to make it easier for women to have access to opportunities, larger audiences, and success.
Tems also cautioned future female artists to have firm goals, know their identity, and establish firm boundaries: “What are the things that you wouldn’t do for fame and the things that you would do?”
