A prominent Nigerian public relations guru has turned to Twitter to post screenshots of a conversation he had with Tems, the fastest rising Nigerian music sensation, in which she requested that he help promote her album.

Chidi published the conversations with the hopes of inspiring individuals who think it will be difficult for them to succeed in a country where it appears unattainable. He described how Tems had pleaded that he send her music to a music label executive.

Chidi complied with her pleas, but the executive stated that her genre of music would struggle to prosper in the Nigerian or African music scenes.

Fast forward a few years, and she’s working with some of the biggest names in the music industry, and she’s gaining a lot more traction than she probably expected three years ago.

Chidi, who shared the screenshots, wrote:

July 2018, Tems messaged me about promoting her music. I checked her out and liked the songs so much that I reached a friend who was managing an Indie label. But the label owner said she sounded too R&B and declined. Today, Tems is global, rolling with WizKid, Drake & Rihanna. I don’t blame him to be honest. He’d been around enough to know that her sound was going to be a hard sell. Just sharing this conversation because it’s a reminder that if we believe strongly in ourselves, we should keep striving. The world will catch up to our gift.

See the chats below;