Nigerian singer Tems has delighted major influencers in the UK music and media industry at an event where they got to hear her eagerly anticipated, unreleased debut album.
BBC Radio 1Xtra’s Rampage, Capital Xtra’s DJ Semtex, Kiss FM’s Henrie and Adesope Shopsydo from The Afrobeats Podcast were just some of names present for a first listen to Born In The Wild.
Tems, who rose to fame in 2020 by featuring on Wizkid's hit song Essence and won a Grammy award for her collaboration with Drake and Future, has had fans waiting for a debut album for years.
The 28-year-old arrived at her album playback in a long-sleeved khaki-green dress, looking slightly nervous on stage at the Sony Music headquarters in central London.
Tems was introduced to the limited audience by the co-founder of Since93 record company, British-Ghanaian label executive Glyn Aikins.
She seemed pleasantly surprised to see so many industry movers and shakers and mentioned how "weird" it feels to only just be dropping her first album now.
“Like, how is that possible?" she queried, nodding to the amount of work she has already put out.
Before playing some of her new songs, the Lagos-born star revealed that the album is still in the process of being mixed. She is also waiting for collaborative tracks on the project to be cleared.
The playback began with the title song Born In The Wild, followed by Wickedest Whine, which samples the classic hit Premier Gaou from Ivorian band Magic System.
Next up was Love Me JeJe - an accompanying music video was released less than a week ago and already has more than a million views on YouTube.
Burning had a 90s feel with strong production and lyrics to match; Forever felt like Tems was broadening her sound beyond her Afrocentric fan base.
The playback ended with Boy Oh Boy, a heavy guitar-lead tune that demonstrated the diversity of the album.
Top UK DJ and producer Manny Norte shared the sentiments of many in the room by saying how "crazy" it felt that this was Tems’ first album "despite the impact she's already had in the game".
The project felt like it had something for everyone: for Afrobeats devotees, lovers of nostalgic RnB as well as fans of alternative sounds.
Tems enthusiasts can expect to hear a very dynamic album when it drops in June.