Two of Nigeria’s biggest voices may finally be sharing a track, and it is tied to one of the most anticipated fantasy films on the calendar.
A snippet of a rumoured collaboration between Burna Boy and Tems has surfaced online, reportedly recorded for the soundtrack of Children of Blood and Bone.
The clip arrived on October 26 and fans have been passing it around ever since. Neither artist has formally confirmed the full song yet, so for now it lives in that familiar space between leak, tease and wishful thinking.
What makes this more than a random snippet is how deep both artists already are in the project.
Tems has been named executive music producer and curator of the film’s soundtrack, which puts her in charge of its overall musical direction. That is a big step up from featured artist to the person shaping the sound of an entire film.
She has also reportedly recorded three original songs for the production herself. So any Burna Boy duet would be one piece of a much bigger body of work she is steering.
Burna Boy’s role is different but just as hands on. He is serving as the project’s executive music consultant, bringing years of experience pushing Afrobeats onto global stages.
Between the two of them, the soundtrack is very much being built by Nigerian artists from the top down.
That matters because of where the story comes from. Children of Blood and Bone is adapted from the bestselling 2018 novel by Nigerian American author Tomi Adeyemi, the first book in her Legacy of Orïsha series.
The world she built draws heavily on West African and Yoruba culture, so having Nigerian musicians guiding the score feels less like a marketing move and more like a natural fit.
This also is not the first time Tems and Burna Boy have orbited the same blockbuster. Both contributed to Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in 2022, with Tems covering Bob Marley’s “No Woman No Cry” and Burna Boy delivering “Alone.”
Tems also picked up an Oscar nomination as a co-writer on Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” from that same soundtrack.
Their resumes since then only raise expectations. Burna Boy won a Grammy for Twice as Tall, and Tems has Grammy wins for her work on Future’s “Wait for U” and her own “Love Me JeJe.”
Still, some caution is fair. A short clip is not a finished song, and soundtrack previews have a habit of changing shape before release. Fans hoping for a full Burna and Tems duet may need to wait for official word from the film’s team.
For now, the snippet has done its job. It has people talking about the music of Children of Blood and Bone long before the film itself arrives, and everyone is watching to see what Tems and Burna Boy reveal next.
