Tems' manager, Muyiwa Awoniyi, has revealed that Tems, the Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, was not financially buoyant when they first met.

In the recent episode of the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast, Awoniyi, the manager of Tems, recalled that the singer had only N200 in her bank account during their first encounter.

He said that her determination and dedication are the reasons he decided to work with her despite having nothing financially.

While answering a question during the podcast, he 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 contract to sign. We had already verbally agreed on 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.’ Before 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 my cousin and I were talking.

“Then obviously, she wasn’t financially buoyant in any capacity. When I met Tems, she had only about 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, despite not having money, she would still 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.”