Check out the Intimate and Dazzling Visuals for Tems’ "Burning"
The self-directed video tugs at themes of introspection and fulfillment.
When Temsreleased Born in the Wildin June, it was like a prophecy fulfilled. For about four years, the artist born Temilade Openiyi had risen from the edges of alt-leaning music to mainstream darling, all on the strength of her pure and introspective music. Tems definitely showed a myriad of her qualities on the much-lauded debut album, with her powerful vocals floating across production that deftly moved between soul, R&B, and Afro influences.
In the first visual she’s sharing post-album release, Tems honors the soulful influences that’ve made her so beloved across continents. “Burning” is the third record on Born in the Wild, an early placement that shines with its morning feeling, a neo-soul classic which places destruction side-by-side with worldly satisfaction. However nihilistic the chorus of “Guess we’re all burning” is, Tems reaches a fine realization of self through walking on rugged terrain, and this is the emotional complexity depicted in its video.
Directed by Tems herself, it sees her walking through the streets of New York, unaffected by the throbbing world around. It’s a familiar imagery in R&B: the one who walks among the crowd, so suffused in their unique tragedy that they’re essentially removed from the crowd—everything passes through them. In a montage of airy and stuffed scenes, Tems shows the world through an intimate lens, kind of subverting the expectations of her phenomenal rise on the global stage.
On the first verse, she plays subtly with these expectations, as she sings: “Just a new girl on the scene / Got your face in magazines / How it feel? It’s killing me / But do you care to see? / Plenty fire in my eyes, just the way I like to be / Will I stay, will I leave?” Such atmospheric poetry doesn’t need a hard-and-fast visual, and being the curator of its sound - alongside Guilty Beatz - Tems knows this.
For now, she surely stays, with the North American tour of Born in the Wild scheduled to kick off on August 22, in Miami Beach. Across venues which include the 713 Music Hall, The Met Philadelphia and The Warfield, the artist will perform and thrill fans, up until October 1, when she wraps up the tour at The Greek Theater in Los Angeles. She immediately heads to Australia afterwards, performing in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney.
There’s certainly a lot to expect, and with the new visual, Tems SZN continues in full flux. Watch the music video for "Burning" below.