Temmie Ovwasa Debuts

[Calllaris]

 

(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.”
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“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.

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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

[Calllaris]

 (An all girl band)

 

 E Be Like Say Dem Swear For Me is self-produced, which is a very tasking thing to do, but it has its merits. It gives the artist the freedom to approach their work as they deem fit. And Temmie didn’t take this freedom for granted. She leaked the album a day to its official release date. And that is the least disruptive thing about the entire project.

The singer puts her money where her mouth is when it comes to her grouse on the way female artists are made to dance through hoops for a crumb of success.

For her album listening party, Temmie Ovwasa performed with an all-female band that brought the roof down with a spectacular performance to match Femi Kuti’s band. At a point, her guitarist held a solo riff so beautiful and for so long it could have passed as a performance all by itself.

“It is 2020, that one woman at the table BS doesn’t work for me,”she said later on,“it is like the tokenism in Hollywood where you have one black character in a pool of whiteness.”

It isn’t just the exacting talent displayed by pianist, guitarist, drummer and backing singer, even though that alone is a thing of marvel. It is that Temmie didn’t break a sweat in finding an all-female band to perform with.

Time and again, Nigerian women have affirmed and reaffirmed that it is not the paucity of talent or the will to labour over their passions that stunt the emergence of more successful women, be it in Engineering or the performing arts, it is the deeply rooted misogyny that has permeated every sector of the Nigerian society.

From patriachy, homophobia, misogyny and a whole lot of disappointments and undue advantage taken from a young teenage woman in the music industry, by a harsh society like Nigeria, Temmie hopes to heal herself and others through her music 

“I’m in the process of healing. And whether I get to heal or not before I die, I promise to f***k shit up while I’m still here!”she said, her smile a promise that dares you to make the mistake of thinking it won’t be kept.

                     *

The album, E Be Like Say Dem Swear For Me, which is out on all streaming platforms is bound to be a talisman for misfits, oddballs, and rejects of Nigeria’s broken society. Above all, it will hopefully heal some, enough to gather together their broken dreams and face life head-on with dignity.