Don’t judge Africa until you visit Nigeria, Ghana – Singer Tems
- Grammy-winning singer Temilade Openiyi, also known as Tems, has urged the world to defy stereotypes and explore the diverse cultures of Africa, particularly in Nigeria and Ghana.
- Tems at the 2025 Met Gala in New York urged foreigners to visit Lagos and Ghana to understand the true essence of African life.
Grammy Award-winning artist Temilade Openiyi, widely known as Tems, has called on the global community to challenge narrow views of Africa and instead embrace the continent’s rich cultural diversity—starting with visits to Nigeria and Ghana.
Speaking to Fashion Bomb Daily during the 2025 Met Gala in New York, the Nigerian singer-songwriter encouraged people from around the world to experience Africa firsthand before forming opinions based on assumptions or outdated stereotypes.
She said, “I always encouraged people to go to Lagos and Ghana for vacation. Just go and see for yourself before you make an opinion [about Africa]. See it for yourself and see how you feel.
“I think it [the beauty of Africa] is in the creativity, the daily efforts, the looks, the songs, the traditions and the cultures.”
Tems also addressed global misconceptions about African music, noting that while Afrobeats has gained international recognition, it’s just one of many genres flourishing across the continent.
“We [Africans] can go further in every single aspect of sound. We are not just Afrobeats. There is Amapiano, Afrosoul, R&B, Afro Jazz. There are so many genres in African music that people are not all the way tapped into yet,” the singer said.
