Tems accepts the Diamond award from Yati Khumalo at SXSW London 2025.
Penske Media Corporation (which also owns Billboard) and film and production company MRC became investment partners of SXSW in 2021. Penske took majority ownership of SXSW two years later.
Yati Khumalo:
Created in partnership with the Botswana Investment and Trade Center, the Diamond Award represents the shared philosophy between the sustainable and ethical development of Africa’s mineral resources, which countries like Botswana have perfected, and our most noteworthy mainstream export — music. Generating more than $29.6 billion in revenue in 2024, music is the backbone of African culture, both on the continent and abroad. Alongside the Diamond Award, tonight’s winner will also receive an all-inclusive, curated tourism experience at Abercrombie and Kent travel group’s world renowned Chiefs Camp in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.
I’m so pleased to present this award to an artist who has been leading the vibe with authenticity, an unmistakable sound and an attitude of perseverance. Please join me in celebrating Nigerian singer-songwriter, producer, entrepreneur and the hit maker “Free Mind,” “Wait for You” and “Love Me JeJe,” Billboard and Billboard Africa‘s Diamond Award recipient, Tems.
Tems:
What an intro. Thank you so much. Thank you so much to Billboard. I’m really honored to be here to stand in front of so many beautiful people, so many, so many accomplished people. It’s an honor. It’s a great pleasure. And I really, really appreciate you.