Rapper Odumodublvck has asserted that Tems and Ayra Starr have achieved more in the music industry than legendary Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti and contemporary Afrobeats stars Wizkid and Burna Boy.
He said this on the “Cocktails & Takeaways” podcast, hosted by Madame Joyce.
Odumodublvck praised Tems and Ayra Starr for their remarkable accomplishments, despite facing numerous challenges as female artistes in a male-dominated industry.
He highlighted the difficulties they overcome, including s3xual harassment and exploitation, to produce great music.
He described being a female artiste as the hardest job in the world, followed by being an artiste in general.
He said: “When I was coming to London, I was on the same flight with Tems’ manager, Don Awon. I told Tems, ‘Big up, you did it. What you and Ayra Starr have done is bigger than anything Wizkid, Burna Boy and even Fela have done. Quote me anywhere.
“Because as a female artiste, out of every 10 show promoters, 5 want to have s3x with you, out of every 10 producers, 5 want to have s3x with you, out of every 10 artists that you look up to and need help from them, 5 want to have s3x with you.
“I can’t imagine being in that situation. And after dodging all those things, you still make good music. Remember, the number one hardest job in this world is being a woman.
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“The second hardest job is being an artiste because there are over 100 million artistes. How are you going to make it out of the thousands of songs that drop every day? Why should they listen to your own?
“It’s not like you’re doing a job where your payment is guaranteed. As an artist, there’s no guaranteed payment, you’ve to make it for people to pay you. It took me about six years to get my first good cheque. So imagine being a babe and an artiste and you still make it. That’s impressive.”
Tems’ debut album “Born in the Wild” and Ayra Starr’s sophomore album “The Year I Turned 21” have received critical acclaim and commercial success.
“Born in the Wild” peaked at number 56 on the US Billboard 200 chart, while “The Year I Turned 21” became the first album by a female Nigerian artiste to debut on the US Billboard 200 chart.
