On Instagram, she exudes a laid-back charm that doesn't scream out loud, engage in banal exchanges or slither in the murky corridors of gossip columns. Even when she wins (and boy, does she) Tems keeps her grace, faintly pointing out her successes as if, just like us, shocked at her own meteoric rise.

It was in early 2021 when Wizkid, who had already featured Tems in his late 2020 hit "Essence", introduced the world to the absolute beauty, gorgeousness, incredible gift and coquettish sultriness that is Tems.

On "Essence", a song that would later reverberate across the world, from Los Angeles to Laos, Accra to Ankara, Tems sang coyly, reminding her lover that he needed no 'other body'. In the video, she sat effortlessly, her exotic sexiness filling the screen, as she glanced flirtatiously into the camera, her eyes beguiling the world.

In 2018, Tems, born Temilade Openiyi, quit her 9-5 day job, buried her head into YouTube music production tutorials and then, just a year later, released the now almost-classic hit 'Try Me'.

'Mr. Rebel', released in 2018, had already started biting at the hearts of early fans. 

After that, an EP was dropped. And then another EP. And then some collaborations which saw her career climb dizzyingly, roping in a host of sequined A-list belters including Rihanna and Adele.

On 'Crazy Tings', Tems delved into her deepest self, belting out a tune that stirred the soul, provoked the mind and exposed her sensual nakedness - evoking memories of Tracy Chapman at her finest hour.

Tems' signature sound became a pastiche of all things Lagos - and the world. And unlike the bouncy, high-tempo polyrhythms which have dominated Afrobeats, the 26-year old chose to go down a more silent path, a road that was not cluttered with Port Harcourt chants or rowdy Ibadan choruses but with nuanced moods and raw emotions.

Soon, things happened. Fast. Tems would then meet one of the biggest (if not the biggest) female star from the UK, Adele, who, upon meeting her, gushed and broke into her own song 'Try Me'.

If Adele (thee Adele) was star-struck, then it meant that everyone else was living in Tems' world.

And then Drake came calling, masterfully including her in his Certified Lover Boy album, in the slow-burning track "Fountains". He would come calling again, cleverly interpolating her own 2020 song 'Higher' into his collaboration with Future.

'Wait For You' has just won a Grammy Award (Tems' first) for the 'Best Melodic Rap Performance'. It had also been nominated under 'Best Rap Song'.

After the win, an elated Future, who fans jokingly warned Tems against, wrote an charming ode to his Nigerian collaborator, "Accept this token of beauty as a thank you for being the best part of our Grammy Award Winning song. This is just the beginning. - Future."

Tems' unprecedented (for a Nigerian female singer) forays into Hollywood have seen her hobnob wish some of the mightiest names in film and music - she appeared at Rihanna's Savage Launch in Los Angeles, arrived in a flowing white robe at Jay Z's Roc Nation brunch, has walked on countless red carpets and also sat in gilded rooms where awards of the Grammy caliber were being dished out to A-list stars.

With just a little over five years in the game, Tems, who eschewed the alte that runs in the Afrobeat bloodstream, seeking to chart her own path and use her own unconventional voice, has managed to scale heights her female predecessors (Tiwa Savage, Yemi Alade, Chidinma) have been unable to attain, even after more than a decade plying the trade.

"The God of Tems" has now become a popular phrase that her fans use whenever Tems scores yet another win - and her victories, much like those of other African IT-girls like Elsa Majimbo or Lupita Nyong’o, just don't seem to stop.

It was Tems who was called upon to write the song that would reintroduce Rihanna to the singing game after almost six years of a discomforting hiatus. On "Lift Me Up", her remarkable penmanship, once again, revealed itself as Rihanna stirred souls and evoked emotions in one of Tems' most tempestuous compositions.

Also, it was Tems who was bestowed the glorious honor of redoing Bob Marley's gigantic classic 'No Woman, No Cry', as part of the 'Wakanda Forever' soundtrack. 

As the golden African chanteuse continues to hypnotize crowds, wow fellow stars, win new fans and rewrite Afrobeat history, millions can only sit, watch and learn from a woman who decided to be defiantly herself, even in the age of a sickening kowtow culture.