Grammy-winning singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has called on the world to look past stereotypes and experience the richness of African culture, starting with Nigeria and Ghana.
Speaking with Fashion Bomb Daily on the red carpet of the 2025 Met Gala in New York, Tems encouraged international audiences to visit Lagos and Ghana to gain a more authentic understanding of what life in Africa truly represents.
“I always encouraged people to go to Lagos and Ghana for vacation. Just go and see for yourself before you make an opinion [about Africa]. See it for yourself and see how you feel,” she said.
Okay.ng reports that the singer emphasized Africa’s creativity, cultural diversity, and expressive traditions as its most compelling features.
“I think it [the beauty of Africa] is in the creativity, the daily efforts, the looks, the songs, the traditions and the cultures,” Tems added.
She also challenged the narrow global perception of African music, which is often categorized exclusively under Afrobeats. Tems noted that the continent offers a broader musical landscape that deserves global recognition.
“We [Africans] can go further in every single aspect of sound. We are not just Afrobeats. There is Amapiano, Afrosoul, R&B, Afro Jazz. There are so many genres in African music that people are not all the way tapped into yet.”
