“I’m Not an Afrobeats Artist, I Classify My Music as R&B” - Tems Says
Nigerian music star Tems has sparked a fresh debate about music classification after revealing that she does not consider herself an Afrobeats artiste, but rather identifies her sound as R&B.
Nigerian Grammy-winning singer Tems has sparked a fresh conversation about the way African music is labelled globally after making it clear that she does not personally identify as an Afrobeats artiste.
The singer, whose unique sound has earned her international recognition, reportedly described her music as R&B, pushing back against the tendency to place Nigerian artistes under the Afrobeats umbrella.
Tems has never been one to shy away from defining her music on her own terms. The singer has previously discussed the difficulty of categorising African music, pointing out that artistes should be allowed to define their own sound rather than having labels imposed on them. Her latest statement has therefore reignited the debate:
“I’m not an Afrobeats artist. I classify my music as R&B.”
For Tems, being a Nigerian artiste does not necessarily mean that every song she creates should automatically be classified as Afrobeats. Although Tems became a global star through her collaborations with Afrobeats heavyweights, particularly Wizkid on the international hit Essence, her solo music has consistently incorporated elements of R&B, soul, alternative music and other genres.
Her debut album, Born in the Wild, further demonstrated the singer’s preference for creating music that does not fit neatly into one box. Rather than simply following the sound dominating the Nigerian music scene, Tems has developed a distinctive musical identity built around her deep vocals, atmospheric production and emotionally driven songwriting.
As Afrobeats has exploded into the global mainstream, the term has increasingly been used as an umbrella label for music coming from Africa, sometimes regardless of the genre or sound of the particular artiste.
Tems’ statement has already generated conversations among music lovers, with some agreeing that artistes should have the freedom to define their own sound, while others argue that genre labels are useful for helping global audiences understand African music.
Either way, Tems continues to establish herself as an artiste who is comfortable refusing to be boxed into expectations.
Source: TrendyBeatz
