Tems: I was bullied while growing up because of my voice

Tems, the Grammy-winning Nigerian singer, has recalled how she was bullied while growing up over the pitch of her voice.

In a recent interview with The Cut, Tems revealed that she did not speak until age three, adding that singing came naturally to her.

She said she grew up feeling self-conscious because “my voice had bass” and did not sound like other girls with “sweet voices”.

The songstress was “bullied to the point of tears” and was a “target of ridicule”.

Tems said this led her to believe that she “sounded like a boy, or a frog, or that her voice was ugly”.

The 28-year-old singer said she would later “develop the faith” to sound like herself under the tutelage of her music teacher in secondary school.

“I was always in my own little world. I was not very social. When I did make friends, I would try to make them sing my songs,” she said.

“All the other girls had these sweet, high voices and my voice had a bass.”

In 2022, the singer tackled a troll who said her voice was not “sweet”.

Born Temilade Openiyi, Tems gained global recognition in 2020, courtesy of her collaboration with Wizkid on the song ‘Essence’.

She has since established a name for herself in the Nigerian music industry, earning several awards and accolades.

In February 2023, the songstress won her first-ever Grammy award.

She bagged the ‘Best Melodic Rap Performance’ category for her role in ‘Wait for U’, the 2022 hit song by Future featuring Drake.

Tems had previously revealed that she started making music because “I did not have friends”.

She said music is her way of expressing her mind and connecting with people.