Muyiwa Awoniyi, the manager of Nigerian singer, Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has shared a heartwarming story about the singer’s humble beginnings.
In a recent episode of the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast, Awoniyi revealed that Tems had only N200 in her bank account when they first met.
Despite her financial struggles, Awoniyi was impressed by Tems’ determination and dedication to her craft.
He explained that her drive and enthusiasm led him to propose a business partnership rather than a traditional manager-artist relationship.
Awoniyi said “There was something Tems did that made me say, ‘I don’t want to do a managerial contract with you, let’s do a company.’
“When she asked me to be her manager, I agreed and said I would send her a contact to sign. We had already verbally agreed for everything. You know when you present paperwork for artists to sign, it’s always tricky. But she was chasing me to sign my own part. And I have never experienced that before.
“I was like, ‘You don’t mind signing paperwork? Hold on, let’s not do this. You’re someone I can rock with for life. Let’s start a company.’ Prior to this, Tems and I were friends for about three months and we never spoke about working together.
“Back then when I was doing my podcast, she would just be sitting down while me and my cousin are talking. Then obviously, she wasn’t financially buoyant in any capacity. When I met Tems, she only had like 200 Naira in her account. And then I had a production company.
“So, if I had money, I would buy food. Another thing that shocked me was that even though she didn’t have money, she will order food for us. She didn’t even have a way of earning. So, I just realised that she is different from everyone I have seen in Nigeria.”
