For the Nigerian pop singer Teni, authenticity and exuberance are the core tenets of who she’s shown herself to be. In the just over half-a-decade she’s been around, it’s never felt like there’s a persona being sold—what you see is what you get. Between songs and her regular dispatches on social media, Teni has drawn listeners and fans into her triple XL life through sunny melodies, random in-studio moments, a blasé sense of style, jokes—lots of jokes—and glimpses of vulnerability. The Girl Next Door continues to flourish as one of the warmest, realest pop stars around.

Two-plus years after her well-received debut album, ‘WONDALAND’, Teni is set to drop her awaited sophomore album. Announced recently, ‘TEARS OF THE SUN’ is scheduled for release this Friday, November 17, a momentous point in a journey that started off six months back. In May, she released the LP’s lead single, “No Days Off,” a bouncy slapper produced by Genio Bambino. A member of the Monster Boys, the collective primarily known for helming the forward-facing music of alté luminary Cruel Santino, Genio lends a distinct sauce that’s novel for Teni, but you wouldn’t know it from how her sonorous voice bends into a melodic, double-time rap flow.

In her exuberance, Teni has never shied away from trying new things, always looking to work with the brightest sonic hues she can find. It’s a testament to her charisma that she never gets drowned out by her choices—even on the very few occasions when things get garish. ‘WONDALAND’ benefitted from that all-out maximalist lean, turning out standouts like the Davido-assisted chart-topper “FOR YOU,” the breezy folk-pop jam “MOSLADO,” and the suggestively raunchy, fast-paced “INJURE ME.” While she took a break after her debut album dropped, partly due to health-related reasons—a life-threatening throat infection—she clearly hasn’t lost her verve for creating from a place of joy, conviction and intermittent introspection.

Off ‘TEARS OF THE SUN’, Teni has shared two more singles, which culminate in an indication to deliver an album with thematic range and musical versatility. The Blaise Beats-produced “Lanke” is a feel-good cut laced with the winking lyricism that defines her romance-themed songs, while the more recent “Malaika” is spiritually-informed, complete with a video that nods to white garment churches and their affinity for sporadic praying events near and in large bodies of water.

In an Instagram post dialling up expectations for the album, Teni wrote: “When you finally get to hear this album, I want you to listen from your heart, embrace it with your soul and I want you to know, I gave it my all, spoke my truth, straight from my heart, against all odds.” No one can ever accuse Teni of dialling it in, even when she’s freewheeling, so it makes that she hopes to receive keen attention from listeners. Similar to her debut LP, ‘TEARS OF THE SUN’ is mostly a solo affair, with the just two guest appearances from Nigerian rap star ODUMODUBLVCK and French-Cameroonian singer TayC. It will feature 16 songs in total and, hopefully, another singular, resonant statement of authenticity and conviction.

 

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Presave ‘TEARS OF THE SUN’ here.

ICYMI: TRACING TENI’S SONIC EVOLUTION FROM “FARGIN” TO “LANKE”