Nigerian singer-songwriter and Afrobeats icon, Tems, has spoken exclusively to BBC 1Xtra’s Remi Burgz about how she only ever dreamt of being a jazz bar singer, how she ‘blacked out’ whilst writing new track ‘Me & U’ and why she decided to direct the music video herself.

Speaking about the success she’s seen over the past couple of years, the Grammy award winning artist told 1Xtra’s Remi Burgz:

“This is not actually my dream. This is beyond my dream. I didn’t actually dream of this. I dreamt of being in a jazz band. That was the kind of singer I was aiming to be. I was like, if you can just sing for people in a lounge, I’ll be happy. So every single thing that’s happening now is just beyond my wildest imagination. I couldn’t have written this”.

‘Me & U’ is Tems’ first release of 2023 and she also spoke about the process of writing the lyrics:

“I blacked out into a different world where I’m like, really expressing my soul. And it was only after that we heard it. I was freestyling, I was just having a conversation with God. In my mind this is what I want just ‘Me & U’. I don’t really want anything else. It’s so crazy the journey of this song. This song has been through so much”.

Asked about what made her want to take on the Director role for the music video, Tems told 1Xtra’s Remi Burgz:

“Because why can’t I? I just closed my eyes, and I was like okay ‘what do I want?’ and I just started writing the treatment. I want to be looking out on the water because I went to the water to talk to God as if I went there to have that conversation. And the whole video is really about God being with me from when I was a child in every version of me. God being there, with me, taking me through every single thing and blossoming into you know who I’m meant to be at the end”.

Tems added: “For like six hours I was there on a platform [on the water] and I was really giving him my all. I hadn’t slept. I was like fainting with my eyes wide open”.