Sorry Tems, I am late to the Party!
In 1997, Seyi Sodimu and Shaffy Bello released the song “Love Me Jeje” to critical acclaim, on the Nigerian scene. 27 years later, Temilade Openiyi would release “Love Me Jeje” in 2024 and win the Grammy Award for Best African Music Performance that same year. And I would hear the entirety of her song, long after the applause was over, on 9th May, 2025. I must have been under a rock because it is unfathomable how desensitized I had become to the oversaturated Afrobeats music scene.
Tems & Seyi
Despite my qualms with the Grammys ingrained politicization and rigged system, Tems’ award was well-deserved, in view of that impeccable bass line, guitar chord and one-of-a- kind vocals. Tems’ rendition is one that requires a headset to auditorily grasp the beauty of her sampling and the marvelousness of the delicately intricate guitar chords. I love the playful outro and how the booty is revered. The last time that occured was in Destiny’s Child “Bootilicious”. Every now and then, mother nature’s endowment must be honoured (Women with real butts would understand).
In any case, Tems’ reinterpretation is one that can be left on the loop for hours on end without the fear of auditory fatigue. She is authentic in every sense and no departure exists between her studio and live performances. And watching her perform the song on NPR’s Tiny Music Desk Concert took me down memory lane.
In the 1990s, the radio and I were buddies, it had to be by my side. I was acquainted with every music programme that my State’s radio station, the Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation and neighbouring radio stations in other States like Cross River Broadcasting Corporation and Abia State Broadcasting Corporation had to offer.
One of such programmes was the Benson and Hedges sponsored Golden Tones which was syndicated and aired on Saturday mornings. This platform was particularly salient to the emergence, development and dissemination of Nigerian Hip-Hop across the country. Alongside Nigeria’s first privately-owned media corporation, Daar Communication which operated Raypower FM and African Independent Television (AIT).
Seyi Sodimu
Shaffy Bello
On one of such Saturday mornings in 1997, the song “Love Me Jeje” by Seyi Sodimu and his cousin, Shaffy Bello was aired on the radio. While Sodimu sang and rapped the verses in Pidgin and English, Bello took charge of the hook in English and Yoruba. The memorability of that song can be credited to the blend of the synthesizer with local instruments, and her vocal clarity and vibrancy. The duo would create other catchy songs like “Money Man”, etc. The euphoria was shortlived as they both disappeared from the scene. Many years later, the delectable Bello would return to the Nigerian collective consciousness, this time as an actress, a phenomenal one at that.
Just when we thought that the musical relevance of the duo had waned and may never be resuscitated, Tems refused to let sleeping dogs lie. Her remake of the song awakens the memories of a time, when life was simpler and uncomplicated. It was the era of Kennis Music, Channel O, Plantashun Boyz, The Remedies, music DVD’s and CD’s.
The American music landscape in the 1990s witnessed the prevalence of music sampling by rap artists. It was the era when rap/Hip-Hop invaded R&B. The music of the 1960s, 70s and 80s enjoyed renewed traction as a consequence. And artists who had paled into obscurity were honoured, recognised and given their flowers. The sampling or cover of past musical works in Nigeria is uncommon and limited. Tems’ reenactment of this sentiment has unified the past with the present, memorialized and engraved the names of Sodimu and Bello on the annals of African music history. In view of her Grammy win, “Love Me Jeje” would never lose visibility. And she deserves an ovation for this feat.
Well done, compatriot!
Seyi Sodimu & Shaffy Bello. “Love Me Jeje” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeJHlTwB4pI (original)
Tems. “Love Me Jeje” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGZB_L5MdH4 (sample)
