Tems - Born in the Wild (2024) [Hi-Res]

Almost six years after releasing her breakout single, 2018’s “Mr Rebel,” Nigerian superstar Tems delivers her debut LP, Born in the Wild. Of course, that interim has been characterized by a trajectory that’s trended upward at almost every turn. From her acclaimed 2020 debut EP For Broken Ears to global megahit collaborations with Wizkid (and later Justin Bieber) on “Essence” and Drake on “Fountains” to 2021’s sophomore EP, If Orange Was a Place, to appearances on 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack (including songwriting credits for Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up”) and Beyoncé’s RENAISSANCE and a Grammy win for Future and Drake’s “Wait for U” in 2023—the alté-R&B star has experienced an almost exponential rise.

That kind of journey is part of what makes Born in the Wild all the more captivating. Over 18 tracks, Tems cracks open her journal through those career highs, and reveals how the person behind them grappled with it all. “I had to step back a bit, to check in with myself,” Tems (Temilade Openiyi) tells Apple Music, “and also just find healing from all the trauma and everything I experienced before ‘Tems.’ I think I had to unlearn a lot of things. This album is just a new way of me expressing myself, while still centering who I am in it.” Here, she works through moments of feeling like an impostor, of rebuilding her self-confidence, of learning the ins and outs of relationships, and of learning to trust herself. Don’t read that as insecure, however—this is the journal of someone who’s done the work, and who’s fully ready to embrace the next chapter.

It’s all brought to life through Tems’ usual brand of honest, mature storytelling—and here, as ever, the centerpiece remains a distinctive voice that simultaneously balances multiple layers of raw, delicate emotion and a natural, unforced ease. That reflective songwriting shows a sonic maturity that’s unrestricted by genre: She traverses from R&B (“Burning”) to fusions of Afrobeats and amapiano (“Get It Right”), balanced with celebrations of culture and heritage, like her reimagined version of Seyi Sodimu’s 1997 hit, the breezy “Love Me JeJe.” Below, Tems talks through these and more key tracks from Born in the Wild.



Tracklist:
1.01 - Tems - Born in the Wild (2:16)
1.02 - Tems - Special Baby (Interlude) (0:59)
1.03 - Tems - Burning (2:55)
1.04 - Tems - Wickedest (2:37)
1.05 - Tems - Love Me JeJe (2:58)
1.06 - Tems, Asake - Get it Right (3:19)
1.07 - Tems - Ready (3:45)
1.08 - Tems - Gangsta (2:42)
1.09 - Tems - Unfortunate (3:39)
1.10 - Tems - Boy O Boy (2:52)
1.11 - Tems - Forever (3:16)
1.12 - Tems, J. Cole - Free Fall (3:12)
1.13 - Tems - Voices in My Head (Interlude) (1:27)
1.14 - Tems - Turn Me Up (3:37)
1.15 - Tems - Me & U (3:13)
1.16 - Tems - T-Unit (3:04)
1.17 - Tems - You in My Face (4:29)
1.18 - Tems - Hold On (4:05)