Tems Gives A Taste Of ‘Born In The Wild’ Debut Album At NPR ‘Tiny Desk’
Tems shares music from her debut album Born In The Wild ahead of its release at NPR’s Tiny Desk. Performing as part of the platform’s Black Music Month series which features all Black women artists, Tems is the first concert of the crop. Chaka Khan, SWV, Flo Milli, and more are also set to debut on the YouTube channel.
The Nigerian singer, along with a live band and team of background vocalists, began with the track “Me & U,” the leading single from her debut album. The set continues by taking it back with “Ice T” from her 2020 release For Broken Ears. Next, the 28-year-old premiered “Unfortunate” and “Forever” from the upcoming album.
She closed the showcase with the previously released fan-favorite “Love Me Jeje.“
Tems performs at the Mojave Tent during the 2024 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 21, 2024 in Indio, California.
Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Coachella
Born In The Wild is set to release on Friday (June 7). The project boasts 18 tracks with features from Asake and J. Cole. Additionally, Tems announced a tour in support of the work, the first international headlining trek of her career.
Supported by Naomi Sharon and Lekan, the tour begins later this month and has stops in London, Paris, Houston, Chicago, and Los Angeles, before wrapping in Australia. As of last month, multiple dates have been marked as sold out.
Tems/ @temsbaby
“Born in the Wild is actually about my journey,” explained the “Free Mind” singer to Eddie Francis on Apple Music 1.
“It’s about my experience as me and about the experiences I’ve had so far. And it really felt like the life I lived before, the life I was accustomed to felt like a wilderness. And it’s not really more so, yes, I was raised in Lagos and that’s a part of me, but it’s not really about the place, it’s more about the state of being. It was a wilderness in the environment I lived in and there’s so many things that happened and so many lessons I learned to come and be this person now. It is basically coming out of the wilderness. So that’s basically what Born In the Wild is about,” she said.
Watch Tems perform on NPR’s Tiny Desk above and check out her Born In The Wild official tracklist below.
Tems/ @temsbaby
Tems’ Born In The Wild Tracklist
1. “Born In The Wild”
2. “Special Baby (Interlude)”
3. “Burning”
4. “Wickedest”
5. “Love Me JeJe”
6. “Get It Right” Feat. Asake
7. “Ready”
8. “Gangsta”
9. “Unfortunate”
10. “Boy O Boy”
11. “Forever”
12. “Free Fall” Feat. J. Cole
13. “Voices In My Head (Interlude)”
14. “Turn Me Up”
15. “Me & U”
16. “T-Unit”
17. “You In My Face”
18. “Hold On”