Grammy award-winning Afrobeats megastar Tems was presented the Trailblazer Award at this evening’s ELLE Style Awards by BAFTA-winning actor Naomi Ackie and BBC Radio 1 presenter Clara Amfo.
Taking to the stage to accept her award, the Lift Me Up singer wore a stunning floor length ruched Alaïa dress and went on to thank her upbringing and faith for helping her in her career so far.
'To be here today reminds me of what it is to be from Lagos Nigeria, it’s such a different environment. It motivates me to keep going because honestly the only thing I remembered was that I’m not here for myself - I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for God, for Jesus. I am so grateful to be in this environment looking at your beautiful faces.'
Tems, who was born Temilade Openiyi, has worked with some of the biggest pop artists of the decade: Beyoncé, Rihanna, Drake and Justin Bieber, to name a few, has had quite the few years. The Lagos-born star was nominated for an Academy Award for her writing work on Black Panther’s Lift Me Up and won her first-ever Grammy award for her contribution to Future’s hit single, Wait For U.
Speaking as part of a quintet of ELLE Style Award winners who are also our October cover stars, Tem’s said of her career so far: ‘I have learned so much, and I’ve had to learn so much, I was super naive, as most people are that have a dream. You don’t realise the loss, or the things that you have to deal with, when you achieve this dream.’
Naomi May is a freelance writer and editor with an emphasis on popular culture, lifestyle and politics. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard as its Fashion and Beauty Writer, working across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Acting News Editor at ELLE UK and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others.
