Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Tems is opening up about the spiritual moment that changed everything. In a candid interview, she revealed that quitting her digital marketing job was a revelation from God, a divine push that felt like a matter of survival.
The Tems’ quitting job revelation came in January 2018. At the time, she was working a stable 9-to-5 in digital marketing. But something inside her kept insisting that path wasn’t hers.
“It got to a point where I couldn’t take it anymore,” she shared. “It was really dawning on me like, it’s now or never.”
She admitted she kept putting off the decision until she developed enough faith to believe God would see her through.
The singer, whose real name is Temilade Openiyi, explained that her resignation wasn’t impulsive, it was prayed over.
God told me to quit after she sought spiritual clarity. “Spiritually, I was aware that digital marketing wasn’t my path,” Tems said. The realization came with immense weight.
“It felt really like life or death. It was like this can make or break your destiny,” she recalled.
After quitting, Tems waited nearly six or seven months before releasing her debut single “Mr Rebel” in late 2018 . The song began attracting attention, but her true breakout came in 2020 when she featured on Wizkid’s global hit “Essence,” which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.
By 2022, she became the first African artist to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 with Future’s “Wait For U,” featuring her and Drake . The song won a Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance. This year, she added another Grammy with “Love Me Jeje” for Best African Music Performance.
Looking back seven years later, she has no regrets, only gratitude that she listened to the voice that told her to leap.
