Nigerian artist and songwriter Temilade Openiyi, known simply as Tems, is history again after she became the first African female artist to join Spotify’s Billion-Stream Club for featuring on the hit track “Wait For U,” which crossed the one billion streams mark on the platform. The feat, officially recorded on July 23, 2025, is accompanied by the premium Spotify Billions Club plaque, a testament to the song’s global popularity and cultural relevance. The victory is not only a milestone for Tems but for the continued rise of Afrobeats and African music on the international scene.
“Wait For U,” released in May 2022 as part of American rapper Future’s I Never Liked You album, features both Future and Canadian sensation Drake. The track interpolates Tems’s soulful 2020 album “Higher” and became a worldwide phenomenon overnight, debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 at number one. That record-breaking initial number one positioned Tems to become the first African artist ever to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard chart. A year later, the song won the Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance and cemented its place even more, making Tems one of today’s most notable new artists.
Her addition to the Spotify Billion Club makes her part of a small but growing group of Afrobeats artists who’ve reached the same milestone. Wizkid nailed it with “Essence,” his 2020 global smash with Tems, which has been touted as one of the songs that put Afrobeats firmly in the worldwide mainstream. Rema’s “Calm Down” and particularly the remix with Selena Gomez also crossed a billion streams, making him a household name on the continents. Last year, South African sensation Tyla joined the scene with her hit “Water,” which swept the world’s charts and earned her a Grammy in 2024. These artists come from the new generation of African artists who are not only competing but also placing shoulder to shoulder the world’s biggest pop stars.
For the case of Tems, the success encapsulates both her talent and the worldliness of her music. Born and bred in Lagos, she started her career with an unconventional sound blending Afrobeats, R&B, and soul. In a little while, her career has progressed from being a local sensation in Nigeria to collaborating with global legends and performing on the world’s biggest stages. Her 2024 debut album Born in the Wild also showed her promise, getting critical and chart success in the UK, Netherlands, and Switzerland. Album success launched her worldwide Born in the Wild Tour, which sold out on many continents. She already broke history earlier this year at the 67th Grammy Awards when her “Love Me JeJe” won the Best African Music Performance award, the first Nigerian artist to win more than one Grammy award.
Tems’s achievement is more than a streaming record but a cultural moment that speaks to the global influence of African music. Each billion streams is a testament to the depth of how much her voice cuts across languages and borders, and how much there is a growing demand for African stories being told through music. With Afrobeats still dominating the world’s pop culture, Tems’s success is still a win for her and a beacon for the next generation of African artists brave enough to leave their mark on the world.
