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Tempoe

b. 1996

Nigerian record producer and musician

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About Tempoe

Born 1996. Tempoe is a musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, singer and disk jockey.

Michael Chigozie Segun Alagwu (born in Lagos, Nigeria), known professionally as Tempoe, is a Nigerian record producer, songwriter, audio engineer, and recording artist based between Lagos and London. He is widely recognized by the producer tag “MÄD!,” which appears at the start or end of most of his production work. Since entering the industry in 2016, Tempoe has built a catalogue anchored by some of Afrobeats’ biggest crossover records, most notably CKay’s “Love Nwantiti,” which became the first solo Nigerian song to surpass one billion streams on Spotify, reached the top three of the UK Official Singles Chart, and peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has been certified 8× Platinum by the RIAA in the United States. (“Door,” “Sip (Alcohol),” “SMH”), and Victony (“Soweto,” on which he also appears as a credited performer). He has since expanded into executive production, most visibly on Joeboy’s third studio album Viva

Lavida (2025), producing or co-producing the majority of the tracks on Omah Lay’s

His work has drawn recognition from the African Muzik Magazine Awards the BMI Awards, which honored his work on “Love Nwantiti” at the 2022 BMI Awards in London and again at the 2023 BMI Pop Awards; and The Headies, which gave him three nominations in 2023, Producer of the Year (for “Soweto”), plus Best Recording of the Year and Viewers’ Choice for the song itself. Rolling Stone placed “Soweto” at number 15 on its list of the 40 best Afropop songs of 2022. As of late 2025, Tempoe held three RIAA certifications for his production work: Gold for “Soweto” and Omah Lay’s “Soso,” and 8× Platinum for “Love Nwantiti,” which first reached Gold certification in January 2022 before climbing further. He went on to produce other songs, such as Container for CKay and Play for Blaqbonez, both signed to Chocolate City. In a bid to improve his production skills, he enrolled at Sarz's Production Academy.

In 2019, Tempoe collaborated again with CKay in the production of the afro-fusion single, Love Nwantiti. In November 2020, Tempoe teamed up with singer Omah Lay, producing another successful single, Godly, which garnered over 100 million accumulated streams across all music sharing platforms, peaking at number 5 and number 15 in Ghana and Kenya's top 100 tracks on iTunes. Tempoe also produced the single Door from Joeboy's debut album, Somewhere Between Beauty & Magic, and Sip (Alcohol), which received 50 million streams within four weeks of its release.

In May 2022, he produced and performed in the single, Soweto, the lead track off Victony's Outlaw EP, which is his first official single as a performing artiste. Tempoe released the video for Soweto in October 2022. The video was directed by Jyde Ajala and garnered over 8 million views on YouTube within four weeks. The song featured at number 15 on Rolling Stone magazine's Top 40 Afropop Songs of 2022.

In 2022, Tempoe signed a publishing deal with American independent record publishing group, APG, and the partnership led to his being tapped to co-write and produce Robinson and Jason Derulo's single Ayo Girl, which features fellow Nigerian afrobeat act, Rema.

Charts and certifications +S/NSongCharts/Certifications1“Love Nwantiti” RIAA 8× Platinum (US); Diamond (France, SNEP); first solo Nigerian song to pass 1 billion Spotify streams; No. 1, Billboard U.S. Afrobeats Songs chart (2022); UK Official Singles Chart Top 3; No. 26, Billboard Hot 100 5“Sip (Alcohol)” Nigeria (TCSN) 4× Platinum; No. 1, TurnTable Top 50 (nine consecutive weeks); UK Afrobeats Chart peak No. 2. 6“Understand” No. 1, TurnTable Top 50 (three weeks).

Awards and recognition Tempoe received a nomination for the African Producer of the Year at the 2022 African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA) alongside Pheelz from Nigeria and DJ Maphoriza from South Africa in September 2022. In October 2022, he was honored by BMI at the BMI Awards London for his contribution to the song Love Nwantiti in the category of Most Performed Song of the Year. He was listed in the TurnTable End of the Year Top 50 of 2021 as a Top Producer of the Year.

Achievements Tempoe has produced several internationally certified recordings, including CKay's Love Nwantiti , Omah Lay's Soso , and Victony and Tempoe's Soweto . These songs have received Gold, Platinum, and Multi-Platinum certifications across multiple territories, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Nigeria.

Production discography 2016 Nkechi Turnup - CKay Container - Ckay Play - Blaqbonez

2019 Love Nwantiti - CKay Jensimi - Reminisce featuring Niniola

2020 Godly - Omah Lay Party Dé - DJ Lambo featuring Buju

2021 Understand - Omah Lay Bend You - Omah Lay Door - Joeboy Soso - Omah Lay Alcohol (Sip) - Joeboy Purple Song - Omah Lay Piece of Mind - Mayorkun 100 Metres - Teni On - Teni Door (remix) - Joeboy Featuring Kwesi Arthur

2022 The Front Door - MI Abaga featuring Duncan Mighty Soweto - Victony and Tempoe Ayo Girl - Robinson and Jason Derulo featuring Rema Contour - Joeboy Iz Going - Bad Boy Timz Something to Lose - Wurld Press - Wurld Same as You - Wurld Mine - Blanche Bailly and Joeboy Winter Wonderland/Don't Worry be Happy - Omah Lay

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Important facts

Born
1996, Lagos State, Nigeria
Birth century

People in Tempoe's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Tempoe's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Tempoe?

Nigerian record producer and musician

When was Tempoe born?

Tempoe was born in 1996 in Lagos State, Nigeria.

What is Tempoe's occupation?

Tempoe is a musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, singer and disk jockey.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Tempoe

· Wikidata: Q115492516

· DBpedia: Tempoe

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Tempoe. https://biography.guide/tempoe/

MLA: "Tempoe." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/tempoe/.

Chicago: "Tempoe." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/tempoe/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-22 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

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