Do we like Tems?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Decent conduct and a few thoughtful public choices, held back from higher because she has said little publicly on LGBTQ+ issues or the planet.
Tems is the Nigerian singer-songwriter who went from a slow-burn Lagos scene to the top of the global charts. In 2026 she became the first African woman with seven Billboard Hot 100 entries, and her track “Raindance” with Dave gave her a first UK number one.
The Grammys are the other big marker. In February 2025 she took Best African Music Performance for “Love Me JeJe”, her second Grammy, and her acceptance speech was all gratitude: “To God be the glory,” she said, and thanked her team.
Harm check, and this is the honest bit: we went looking and found nothing harmful. No anti-LGBTQ+ comments, no conspiracy rabbit holes, no dodgy company turned up in the reporting we read. The flip side is she doesn't seem to use her platform to talk about LGBTQ+ rights or climate, so it's a clean sheet rather than a rainbow flag.
Where she has spoken up, she has done it with some grace. During the August 2024 nationwide protests in Nigeria she held back the video for “Burning” out of respect for the protest at home. In January 2025 she cancelled a Rwanda show after criticism over the Congo conflict, apologised, and said “Conflict is no joke”.
Her faith is front and centre, and that's fine by us. In late 2025 a clip of her calling herself a “Jesus baby” drew online sniping from some Christians who thought it didn't suit a secular artist, and from others who defended her. It's a stoush about branding, not about harm to anyone.
The 2026 stumble, calling Sasha Obama “Sandra” at the Obama Center, ended with a plain “please forgive me” and a lot of fans on her side. As scandals go, it's about as mild as they come. We found no court cases or serious allegations about her.