Tems has released the heartfelt new single ‘Love Me Jeje’ – inspired by Nigerian legend Seyi Sodimu.
‘Love Me JeJe’ is Tems’ first single of the year and will appear on her highly anticipated debut studio album, ‘Born In The Wild’. The song was solely written by Tems and was produced by GuiltyBeatz (WizKid, Burna Boy) and Spax (Oxlade, Show Dem Camp). The track interpolates the 1997 Nigerian classic of the same name by Seyi Sodimu.
The song features the 28-year-old singing “Love me JeJe, love me tender” – a lyric from Sodimu’s original version. In addition, she tells a sweet tale about being in love: “If not you, then I don’t wanna know, I don’t want no story / Day and night, it’s unconditional, got mе livin’ softly.”
She first teased the new song during her debut Coachella set earlier this month, which also saw Justin Bieber and WizKid join her on stage to perform their Number One hit ‘Essence (Remix)’. Tems later tweeted that the song is “a tribute” to Sodimu and pays homage to the Grammy Award winner’s childhood and upbringing.
Sodimu has since shown support for Tems interpolating his song. According to temsszn on X/Twitter, he said: “I woke to this video of @temsbaby performing her new song LOVE ME JEJE at @coachella. This made my day.”
“The beautiful thing about music is that it transcends generations and connects us through time,” he added. “Shoutout to Tems and her team, and congrats on a wonderful Coachella performance.”
“I woke to this video of @temsbaby performing her new song LOVE ME JEJE at @coachella. This made my day.
The beautiful thing about music is that it transcends generations and connects us through time.
Shoutout to Tems and her team, and congrats on a wonderful Coachella… pic.twitter.com/sPwtUwcDJ3
— tems 𝖘z𝖓 (@temsszn) April 26, 2024
The song is the third single from ‘Born In The Wild’, following on from lead single ‘Me & U’ and the ballad ‘Not An Angel’.
‘Born In The Wild’ will be released in May 2024 via Since ’93/RCA Records. You can pre-save the album here.
Recently, Tems was honoured with the Breakthrough Award at Billboard‘s 2024 Women in Music Awards, at which she also performed ‘Not An Angel’. She also featured on South African Afro-pop juggernaut Tyla’s debut self-titled album, hopping on the song ‘No. 1’.
In other news, Tems is set to perform at BBC Radio One Big Weekend next month. Other acts on the bill include The Last Dinner Party, RAYE, Charli XCX, Alfie Templeman, Caity Baser, Cat Burns, Dylan, and Shygirl,