Billboard chart toping singer Tems released her highly anticipated debut album, Born in the Wild, on Friday (June 7, 2024) via RCA Records and Since ’93.
On the 18-track set is ‘Gangsta’ which features an interpolation of Jamaican singer Diana King’s L-L-Lies, the third single from their second album “Think Like A Girl” (1997) written by Arnold Michael Roman, Andrew Michael Saidenberg and King herself, released by Columbia Records.
“L-L-Lies” which now has 4.6 million streams on Spotify peaked at No. 71 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week o December 27, 1997 and it stayed on the chart for 15 weeks. While “Think Like A Girl” peaked #1 on the Billboard Reggae Chart the week of October 25, and remained at #1 for six weeks, the longest for any born female Jamaican artist in the top spot.
In 2017, Wizkid also sampled the song for Naughty Ride featuring Major Lazer.
Diana often complained about the lack of control for their music which is own by Columbia Records. Their former label were once rivals with RCA but now both are a part of Sony Music’s four flagship labels.
Still King expressed gratitude for Tems using their lyrics, “Oh why oh why oh my you tell me L-L-Lies,” on Instagram saying, “GRATITUDE. ALL THE VERY BEST @TEMSBABY 👑 – KING.”
The “Tougher Than Love” singer has sold over 5 million records worldwide and in 2022 opened a Gofundme to raise $18,000 for her medical procedure to remove her breast and become genderless (hence why she his offered to as their in this article).
“Gangsta,” which is track 8 on the album is produced by Spax and written by Tems. The Nigerian singer took to social media to share a list of credits and interpolations on the album with the caption, “Big love to everyone that worked on this. You are greatly appreciated.”
Big love to everyone that worked on this.
You are greatly appreciated🤍 pic.twitter.com/DzNsiIkISQ— TEMS (@temsbaby) June 7, 2024
The album also features collaborations with Asake (“Get It Right”) and J. Cole (“Free Fall”), as well as the previously released singles “Love Me JeJe” and “Me & U,” the latter of which she premiered during her Coachella performance in April. “Love Me JeJe,” a reimagining of Nigerian singer-songwriter Seyi Sodimu’s 1997 hit, reached No. 4 on U.S. Afrobeats Songs and No. 9 on Hot R&B Songs.
“Me & U” peaked at No. 3 on U.S. Billboard Afrobeats Songs chart and No. 27 on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, and it won Outstanding International Song at the 2024 NAACP Image Awards. In May, Tems performed the title track Born in the Wild and “Love Me JeJe” on The Tonight Show.
The LP comes three years after her last EP, If Orange Was a Place, which reached No. 7 on World Albums and featured five tracks, including the collaboration “Found” with Billboard’s latest cover star, Brent Faiyaz.
Billboard reports that Tems is set to take her first full-length album on the road with the Born in the Wild World Tour starting next week. With special guests Naomi Sharon and Lekan, the 31-date tour kicks off at London’s Eventim Apollo on June 12 and spans Europe, North America, Africa, and Asia before concluding in Australia with three dates in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney in November.
