Search the Community
Showing results for tags 'firsts music debut'.
Found 1 result
-
(Extracts from her interview ) Temmie Ovwasa’s debut album is irreverent and unapologetically gay Her debut album, E Be Like Say Dem Swear For Me, released on 29, November 2020 reflects her character trait exquisitely. The twelve-track album managed a seamless transition from rage to heart wringing romantic longing, to a sultry raw passion that could give the average Nigerian parent instant stroke. All of these she managed to render in belting vocals, husky whispering that tickles the senses, and delightfully grating baritones that command your ears. Listen to track 4, titled Osunwemimo, you will be forgiven if you assume she only sings in silky vocals and dripping passion. She will then jar you back to the reality of her versatility and her unapologetic non-conformist personality with any of either the album’s intro, Iyalaya– where she sings“I don’t kiss ass but I f***k it though, f***k your morals I just learn the rules just to break them all” in a crisp unwavering voice that conveys rage with an undertone of playfulness. 7th track, I Don’t Give A f***k About You, she sings about meddlers who think they can tell her what to do and she replies unequivocally over and over, “NO.” * “I put all of me into this,” Temmie said She is right. She is in every song, and not just because it is her voice singing it. It is her emotions, her personhood which she holds close to her heart but will share with others on her own terms. You are also pulled into her struggles trying to put in the work while dealing with a depression that makes it near impossible to function, fighting naysayers who told her she will fail just like the rebels before her, and her moments of sheer joy brought on by a love that transcends the mundane nature of life. And of course, there shines through a fierce hard won pride in who she is – a woman who is comfortable in her skin. * In Ayefe, Temmie sings,“I hated love songs for a very long time. They reminded me of everything I never had. Then I met you and I realised, love doesn’t have to hurt.” It is a story as old as humankind, yet hearing her sing it feels like a rebirth. Like a meteorite piercing earth’s stratosphere to be reborn into a ball of fire. The (gay) love she sings of is as old as time too, but repressed for many hurt-filled generations, it is reborn in pride for those of us who are alive and for posterity. “This is the first gay album in Nigeria,”.Temmie said. * Temmie left her record label of 5 years – YBNL, some two months ago, not for the reason many speculated - being gay. Even thoough She had been outed around the same time by gossip blogs; Instablog9ja and Linda Ikeji. Misogyny and homophobia actually were her reasons for falling out with YBNL; "I will watch as one artist after another gets signed and their music pushed by the label. It was like my music is for me to record and listen to by myself.” Her feminist politics is not news to anyone who has followed her career to date. She is after all“Miss “I don’t f***k with the patriarchy,”as she sang in Never Gon Blow, echoing what everyone around her said about all the reasons they think she will not turn out a huge success in the long run. “Tone it down Temmie,” “Smile more Temmie,” “Why are you so angry,”– she has heard it all and more. It is something almost every woman has heard. “In the years my music wasn’t released, many male artists have had their music released. It is like as a woman you have to work twice as hard to attain the kind of recognition men get by default.” For her, the fight against the patriarchy is personal, as it should be for every self-aware woman and minority group. *** I mean, what do you expect when the album is named E Be Like Say Them Swear For Me.”?! -C
