Tems' 'Born in the Wild Tour' Shows a Modern, Language-Fluid Landscape

On her first-ever world tour, Nigerian singer Tems is finally reaping the fruits of her labor. On her Born in the Wild tour, the Afro-fusion hitmaker paid her first visit to Dallas on Monday night, appearing at the South Side Ballroom. There, she performed years' worth of burgeoning hits along with deep cuts. Having put out music since 2018 — and breaking through with star-studded collaborations with Drake, Future, Justin Bieber, Beyoncé and Rihanna — Tems’ moment in the sun was long overdue. With this tour, we can witness her musical landscape expand to boundless, language-fluid territory.

On Monday, the opening set from Drake-protégé Naomi Sharon set the cozy, intimate mood for the night. It was a performance marked by smooth vocals and soft, downtempo sounds.

Between sets, the stage transformed into a grassland before Tems emerged wearing a bejeweled black halter top and matching pants. She opened the set with “Crazy Tings” from her 2021 EP If Orange Was a Place, which earned an immediate reaction. The hypnotic percussion loops from her backing band got the grooves rolling, as the singer seamlessly charged through her catalog. Songs such as fan-favorite “Ice T” and “Gangsta” from Tems' 2024 debut album Born in the Wild flowed flawlessly into her 2018 debut single, “Mr. Rebel.” Much of Tems’ set consisted of simply performance — the singer, her backing band and background singers, without many special visual effects. Instead, she played documentary-esque audio recordings detailing her journey growing up in Nigeria, with ambitions to become a star.

Fans saw Tems’ premonitions come full circle, as she commanded the stage with her silky vocals and on-beat dancing throughout. She engaged with the crowd multiple times through the night, and at one point jumped down into the crowd, asking a few male fans their names. A lucky fan named Marcus received a special serenading as she freestyled, switching out some of her lyrics and using his name.

Upon her return to the stage, Tems performed “Higher” from her 2020 debut EP, For Broken Ears. This song has lived many lives — in its original iteration, in the form of a sample on Drake and Future’s 2022 hit single “Wait For U,” and now, once more, after Tems took to social media just a day before, revealing that we’ve all been singing it wrong for years. Hearing a room full of fans sing “I will wait for you,” illuminating the scene with phone lights and camera flashes made for a calming experience.

Afro-fusion continues to stand as one of the fastest-growing music genres across the world. According to a report from Music Business Worldwide, the genre saw a 56% year-on-year increase in viewership of Afrobeats and Amapiano videos on Vevo in 2023, and 61% of those views came from outside of Africa. Toward the end of her set, Tems performed the Born in the Wild cut “Love Me JeJe” — the word “jeje” meaning “gently” or softly” — with a diverse audience embracing Tems’ penchant for blending genres and languages effortlessly.

Each Tems fan might have a different answer as to how they discovered her. Some might say it was through “Wait For U.” Some might say it was through her 2021 Wizkid collaboration, “Essence,” which was further popularized with a remix by Justin Bieber.

“Essence” — which was named the best song of 2021 by Rolling Stone — served as the first of Tems’ big three closing tracks for the night, with the singer sounding fresher than ever, and fans not missing a beat, as if the song dropped yesterday.

The Born in the Wild lead single “Me & U” served as the penultimate song, as fans swung and grooved to the infectious bass line.

With two EPs and one album in her repertoire, many hits could’ve been the show’s closer. But on her first global go-around, it was only fitting that Tems ended her show with “Free Mind,” a timeless song that has become a viral self-care anthem for the ages. Dancing to “Free Mind” in a room full of people felt like the ultimate form of camaraderie.

As global genres continue to spread in popularity in the U.S., Tems represents a new wave of artists, defying the confines of musical labels and bringing fans together by earnest storytelling and emotional rawness. Tems’ music is not only something we hear, but something we feel — through crowded venues, packed floors and audiences dancing their way through it all.