Grammy award-winning Nigerian singer Temilade Openiyi better known as Tems has disclosed that she had to postpone the release of her debut album due to a serious illness she battled.

In a recent interview with the New York Times, the vocalist who rose to prominence in 2020 after featuring on Wizkid's summer hit song "Essence", revealed that the sickness that required surgery and a six-month recovery period had delayed the release of her debut album, which was originally slated for 2021.

The Oscar-nominated diva clarified that to make up for the delay of her debut album, she released her second lengthy play, "If Orange Was a Place" instead.

Tems noted that some of the inspiration for her new music, which was about accepting life as a warrior, came from her battle to regain health.

She said: “Being a warrior is about not giving up,” she said. “Even if they cut your leg, you walk on your knees, you fight on your knees using what you have — and that’s good enough.”

Tems has now fixed a new date for the release of her debut album. According to her, the album "Born In The Wild" will be released on June 7.

In the same month, she will also begin her first global headline tour.

Tems left her job in 2018 to focus on her musical career. She started learning how to produce music on YouTube, and on July 18, 2018, she released "Mr Rebel," her self-produced debut single.

GA