Women are not respected in the music industry – Tems

Nigerian two-time Grammy Award winner Tems has shared that women are not respected in the music industry.

In an interview with the BBC, the 30-year-old recounted the struggles she went through when she was finding her feet in the industry.

“I realised that there’s always a cost. There’s always a price that you pay. And a lot of those prices I wasn’t willing to pay, and there weren’t a lot of options,” Tems said.

“I promised myself that if I get to a place where I can do more, I will make this initiative for women like me and maybe make it easier for women to access platforms and access a wider audience and success,” she continued.

The Nigerian songstress disclosed that she promised to do better for women when she gets to the top of the game to help women gain respect in the industry.

“I think it’s important to have an idea of what you want for yourself, what your brand is, what your boundaries are.

“What are the things that you wouldn’t do for fame and the things that you would do?”

“It’s not everybody who sings that loves music. If I weren’t famous, I would still be doing music. I would be in some kind of jazz club… randomly on a Friday night,” Tems revealed what she would have been doing has she had ot been famous because she loves music.

“Even when people tell you to change your sound, change your style, you look at them and you say: ‘No’. If it meant me not being signed, I was okay not being signed. I went to a couple of places that didn’t sign me, and I was okay with that,” she said about staying authentic to herself, and it has earned her success.

Lagos-born Tems is known worldwide after being featured on songs made by Nigerian singer Wizkid, Canadian rapper Drake and American rapper Future. She has featured American singer Justin Bieber on her song Essence.