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Born in the Wild

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Born in the Wild
Studio album by
Tems
Released7 June 2024 (2024-06-07)
Recorded2021–2024
Genre
Length54:26
Label
Producer
Tems chronology
If Orange Was a Place
(2021) 		Born in the Wild
(2024)
Singles from Born in the Wild
  1. "Me & U"
    Released: 5 October 2023
  2. "Love Me JeJe"
    Released: 26 April 2024
  3. "Burning"
    Released: 7 June 2024

Born in the Wild is the debut studio album by Nigerian singer Tems.[3][4] It was released on 7 June 2024, via RCA Records and Since '93. The album was supported by the singles "Me & U", "Love Me JeJe" and "Burning". Born in the Wild features guest appearances from J. Cole and Asake. Its production was handled by Tems, GuiltyBeatz, Sarz, P2J, London, Spax, and DameDame. In promotion of the album, Tems embarked on the Born in the Wild Tour.[5][6][7][8]

Born in the Wild was a commercial success, reaching the top thirty in the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Switzerland. In the United States, it peaked at fifty-six, becoming the highest charting album by a Nigerian female artist.[9] Born in the Wild was nominated for Best Global Music Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.[10][11]

Background

[edit]

In 2020, Tems independently released her debut extended play For Broken Ears. That same year, she signed with RCA Records and released her second extended play, If Orange Was a Place.[12] In 2021, Tems received international recognition after being featured on Wizkid's "Essence" single. Shortly afterwards, her song "Free Mind", from her debut EP For Broken Ears, impacted Rhythmic contemporary radio as a single and charted in the United States. She further achieved success with her collaborations with Future on "Wait for U" alongside Drake, Beyoncé on "Move" alongside Grace Jones and as a songwriter on Rihanna's "Lift Me Up", the latter earned her an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations.[12]

In a tweet in 2022, Tems announced that her debut studio album was scheduled for release in 2023. The album was delayed for unknown reasons with Tems teasing the album and instead releasing two singles "Me & U" and "Not an Angel", which marked her first solo music output since 2021 excluding her cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.[13][14] In March 2024, Tems told Billboard magazine that the album has been completed and that it would released in 2024.[15][16] Shortly afterwards, a private listening session for the album was held in Lagos, Nigeria and later Los Angeles and London.[17]

Promotion and release

[edit]

While performing at her debut Coachella set in April, Tems officially announced that the album was ready and performed a rendition of "Love Me JeJe", an unreleased song off the album.[18] A day later, the album's title and release window of May was revealed along with a trailer, which featured a snippet of the title track.[18]

"Love Me JeJe" was released on 26 April 2024 as the first single off the album. A few weeks later, Tems officially announced the release date of 7 June 2024.[19] In May, Tems appeared on the American late-night talk show The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in May 2024, her debut appearance on the series to promote the album, performing a medley of "Love Me JeJe" and the album's title track "Born in the Wild".[19][20] On 30 May, Tems unveiled the album track list consisting of eighteen tracks; sixteen songs and two interludes. The track list further revealed J. Cole and Asake as guest features on the album.[21]

On 3 June, Tems further appeared on NPR Tiny Desk Concert part of a series celebrating Black Music Month to promote the album performing the then unreleased song "Unfortunate" and "Forever" from the album.[22][23] Three days later, the album was released on all streaming platforms.

As scheduled Tems began her Born in the Wild Tour on June 11, her birthday starting with the European leg at the sold out Eventim Apollo in London and continued performing at tour stops across Europe, Australia and North America.[24][25] The North American leg of the tour commenced on August 22, 2024, in Miami and ended on October 10, 2024.[26]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100
Review scores
SourceRating
African Folder8.4/10[27]
Clash8/10[28]
The Guardian[29]
The Independent[30]
NME[2]
Spin[31]
Pitchfork7.8/10[32]
Rolling Stone8/10[33]

Born in the Wild received high ratings across major publications both in Africa and globally for Tems' vocal delivery, lyrics and presentation.[30] On the review aggregator website Metacritic, the album received a weighted average score of 86 from 100 based on 7 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[34]

NME gave the album a 100 rating stating that "From Highlife to hip-hop, this stunning debut exemplifies West Africa's rich musical diversity via the Beyoncé and Drake collaborator's fluid approach to genre."[2] Robin Murray reviewing for Clash noted that "Closing with" Hold On", this is a rich, velvet-smooth experience, and you're left to wonder who her peers truly are. The magnificence of Lauryn Hill? The success of Sade? Tems is out there in a lane of her own."[28] Pitchfork wrote that "On her adventurous and melancholic full-length debut, the Nigerian pop star re-asserts herself as an imaginative producer and the author of her own lore."[32]

Year-end rankings

[edit]

Born in the Wild appeared on several publications' rankings of the best albums of 2024, including top ten features on Entertainment Weekly,[35] Los Angeles Times, [36]The Hollywood Reporter[37] and The FADER.[38] Billboard ranked the album as the second best R&B album of 2024.[39]

Select year-end rankings of Born in the Wild
Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 50 Best Albums of 2024
18
 [40]
The 10 Best R&B Albums of 2024
2
 [39]
Business Insider The best albums of 2024
11
 [41]
Crack Top 50 Albums of 2024
12
 [42]
Complex The 50 Best Albums of 2024
14
 [43]
Entertainment Weekly 10 Best Albums of 2024
10
 [35]
The Fader The 50 Best Albums of 2024
8
 [38]
Dazed Best Albums of 2024
19
 [44]
The Hollywood Reporter The 10 Best Albums of 2024
6
 [37]
Los Angeles Times The 20 Best Albums of 2024
6
 [36]
NME The best albums of 2024
41
 [45]
NPR The 50 Best Albums of 2024 — [46]
Rolling Stone The 100 Best Albums of 2024
37
 [47]
Uproxx The Best Albums Of 2024 — [48]
Variety The Best 20 Albums of 2024 (So Far)
17
 [49]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Born in the Wild achieved several accomplishments and broke a series of records; the first for a Nigerian female artist. On the US overall Billboard 200 chart and it debuted at number fifty six with 16,500 equivalent album units sold.[50] It became the highest charting album by a Nigerian female artist on the chart surpassing Ayra Starr's The Year I Turned 21.[51] On the genre specific Top R&B Albums chart, Born in the Wild debuted at number five.[50] In Canada, the album peaked at number fifty two.

Across Europe, Born in the Wild debuted in the top thirty in the UK Album Chart,[52] Netherlands and Switzerland, in the latter peaking at number twenty two. The album charted on the Portuguese Album chart becoming the first Nigerian project to enter the chart.[53] In Nigeria, the album peaked at number three on TurnTable Albums, becoming Tems first top ten project on the chart.[54]

Track listing

[edit]
Born in the Wild track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Born in the Wild"
2:16
2."Special Baby" (Interlude)OpeniyiTems1:28
3."Burning"
  • Openiyi
  • Banful
  • Tems
  • GuiltyBeatz
2:55
4."Wickedest"
  • Tems
  • GuiltyBeatz
2:36
5."Love Me JeJe"
2:58
6."Get It Right" (featuring Asake)
Sarz3:19
7."Ready"
  • Openiyi
  • Banful
GuiltyBeatz3:45
8."Gangsta"
  • Openiyi
  • Samuel
  • Andrew Saidenberg
  • Arnold Roman
  • Diana King
Spax2:41
9."Unfortunate"
  • Openiyi
  • Banful
GuiltyBeatz3:39
10."Boy O Boy"
  • Openiyi
  • Banful
  • Nsikak David
  • GuiltyBeatz
  • David
2:52
11."Forever"
  • Openiyi
  • Banful
  • DameDame
  • GuiltyBeatz
  • DameDame
3:16
12."Free Fall" (featuring J. Cole)
P2J3:12
13."Voices in My Head" (Interlude)OpeniyiTems1:27
14."Turn Me Up"
London3:36
15."Me & U"
  • Openiyi
  • Banful
GuiltyBeatz3:12
16."T-Unit"
  • Openiyi
  • Banful
  • Tems
  • GuiltyBeatz
3:03
17."You in My Face"
  • Openiyi
  • Banful
GuiltyBeatz4:28
18."Hold On"
  • Openiyi
  • Banful
  • Tems
  • GuiltyBeatz
4:05
Total length:54:26

Sample credits

  • "Wickedest" contains a sample of "Premier Gaou", written by Edson Tayoro and Salif Traoré, as performed by the Magic System.
  • "Love Me JeJe" contains a sample of "Love Me Jeje", written by Seyi Sodimu, as performed by the latter.
  • "Gangsta" contains a sample of "L-L-Lies" written and performed by Diana King

Personnel

[edit]

Vocalists

  • Tems – primary artist
  • Asake – featured artist (6)
  • J Cole – featured artist (12)

Production

  • Tems – production (2, 13), co-production (1, 3, 4, 16, 18)
  • GuiltyBeatz – production (7, 9,15), co-production (1, 3, 4 —6, 10, 11, 16—18)
  • Spax – co-production (5, 8)
  • London – co-production (14)
  • Sarz –co-production (6)
  • Dame Dame – co-production (11)
  • David – co-production (10)
  • P2J – co-production (12)

Engineering

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Born in the Wild
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australian Hip Hop/R&B Albums (ARIA)[55] 31
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[56] 86
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[57] 135
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[58] 52
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[59] 29
French Albums (SNEP)[60] 74
Nigerian Albums (TurnTable)[54] 3
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[61] 68
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[62] 22
UK Albums (OCC)[63] 25
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[64] 18
US Billboard 200[65] 56
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[66] 16
US World Albums (Billboard)[67] 2

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Madden, Sidney (8 June 2024). "Tems remakes R&B in her image with Born in the Wild: 'I really want to feel it in my chest!'". NPR. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Tems – Born in the Wild album review: soulful, spiritual and self-assured". NME. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
  3. ^ Mamo, Heran (15 April 2024). "Tems Announces Debut Album Born in the Wild". Billboard. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  4. ^ Alexandria, Lavender (15 April 2024). "Tems Reveals When Her Debut Album Will Arrive". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  5. ^ Hussain, Shahzaib (13 May 2024). "Tems Announces 'Born In The Wild' Global Tour | News". Clash. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  6. ^ Blistein, Jon (15 April 2024). "Tems Is Finally Ready to Release Her Debut Album 'Born in the Wild'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  7. ^ Ezema, Patrick (14 October 2023). "Tems Builds Up To Her Debut Album With "Me & U"". The Culture Custodian (Est. 2014.). Retrieved 16 April 2024.
  8. ^ Hussain, Shahzaib (26 April 2024). "Tems Shares Blithe Summer Soundtrack 'Love Me Jeje' | News". Clash. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Billboard 200: Week of June 22, 2024". Billboard. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  10. ^ Blistein, Jon (8 November 2024). "Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar Lead 2025 Grammy Nominees". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Grammy awards 2025: list of nominees | Grammys | The Guardian". amp.theguardian.com. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
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  13. ^ Odunmarayo, Oke (21 March 2023). "Most Anticipated Album Releases of 2023". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 16 April 2024.
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  22. ^ NPR (6 June 2024). "Tems Tiny Desk Concert 2024". NPR.
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  29. ^ "Tems: Born in the Wild review – the Afrobeats artist levels up in style". The Guardian. 7 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
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  34. ^ Born In The Wild by Tems, retrieved 19 December 2024
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  52. ^ "BORN IN THE WILD". Official Charts. 20 June 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
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  54. ^ a b "Official Top 100 Albums: May 31st, 2024 - June 6th, 2024". TurnTable. Archived from the original on 12 June 2024. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  55. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 17 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
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  66. ^ "Tems Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2024.
  67. ^ "Tems Chart History (World Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 November 2024.


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