Nigerian singer Tems made history once again at the 67th Grammy Awards, clinching the award for Best African Music Performance with her hit song Love Me Jeje.
However, she failed to acknowledge Seyi Sodimu, the original creator of the 1997 classic from which her song interpolates in her acceptance speech.
Taking the stage at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, an emotional Tems dedicated her win to God and her team, highlighting how much her life has changed. She also celebrated her mother, who was attending her first-ever Grammys on the eve of her birthday.
“Tomorrow is my mom’s birthday, and this is her first Grammys. I just wanna thank you, Mom, because she’s done a lot for me and my brother. And happy birthday, Mom!” she said.
Despite the heartfelt speech, the glaring omission of Seyi Sodimu, whose song Love Me Jeje was the foundation for her Grammy-winning track is obvious. Produced by GuiltyBeatz and Spax, Tems’ version reimagines the original hip-hop-influenced Nigerian classic within the Afrobeats landscape, but no mention of Sodimu was made on stage.
In all fairness to Tems, she had only about a minute to give her speech and she has already given due credit to Sodimu as he made an appearance in the music video. She could still acknowledge Sodimu in post-win interviews or social media posts.
This marks Tems’ second Grammy win, following her Best Melodic Rap Performance award in 2023 for her feature on Future’s Wait for U.
