LAGOS — Muyiwa Awoniyi, the manager of Grammy-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi, popularly known as Tems, has disclosed that the artist was financially struggling when they first met.
Speaking in a recent episode of the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast, Awoniyi revealed that Tems had just N200 in her bank account at the time of their initial meeting. Despite this, he noted, her determination and work ethic convinced him to support her career.
“There was something Tems did that made me say, ‘I don’t want to do a managerial contract with you, let’s do a company,’” Awoniyi said.
He recounted how Tems was eager to formalize their agreement, even pushing for paperwork—a rare trait among upcoming artists, he said. “She was chasing me to sign my own part [of the contract]. I have never experienced that before,” he added.
Awoniyi said their professional relationship began after three months of friendship, during which they had never discussed working together. He recalled how Tems would quietly sit in while he recorded his podcast with his cousin.
Their decision to establish a company instead of a traditional artist-manager agreement marked the beginning of what would become a successful partnership.
