We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Temitope a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Temitope, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I try to pair all of my music projects with an educational resources that helps to integrate the methodologies of my lyrics into the listeners’ daily life. Kind of sounds like brain-washing seeing that typed out 😂, however, the reality is that media is a teacher. The reality is daily life IS affected by what media we consume so I figure, if I recognize that to be the case, then I can be really intentional in WHAT I am creating.

I am passionate about multiculturalism and reconciliation – seeing different people come together and find common ground. My goal is to create music that inspires people to build relationships with others of various colors, cultures and creeds and then provided resources to help facilitate those relationships. Ultimately, I believe multiculturalism reflects the heart of God. The more we embrace differences, the more we stand to together WITH our differences rather than against each other BECAUSE of our differences, the more we see and experience God. The truth is revealed to us in that God offers it to the world through the reconciliation of His Son, Jesus.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

TEMITOPE (Teh-ME-toh-PEH) is an artist, educator and activist based out of Nashville, TN. “Temitope” originates from the Yorùbá tribe in Nigeria, and means “mine is praise.” He was raised in a multicultural home by his Nigerian and British immigrant parents in San Diego, CA, and as such, understands the importance of reconciliation. TEMITOPE firmly believes that God has created each person to reflect His heart in a way that only he or she can.

In light of this, TEMITOPE walks purposely as he leads a music movement empowering the Church to become reconcilers by loving ourselves and others beyond comfort so that we can see authentic people in a multicultural Church for a reconciled world. The sound of this movement, which TEMITOPE defines as “horizontal worship,” is purposely crafted to mobilize the Church to mending relational divides, often created by differences involving color, culture and creed. Through conversations, music and educational resources, TEMITOPE hopes to remind the Church that we are meant to embody the multicultural heart of God. By standing together with our differences, instead of standing against each other because of our differences, we experience more of God and a glimpse of heaven.

When he’s not building this movement on the road, TEMITOPE, his wife, Jordan, and their kids enjoy intentional time together and with others. You wouldn’t be surprised to see diverse faces around their dinner table. As TEMITOPE says, their home is “full of life.”

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I’ve had to unlearn that assimilation is “normal.” Normal doesn’t exist because we are all fearfully and wonderfully made, and assimilation causes us to miss out that truth. Assimilation prevents us from being everything that God has created us to be. Growing up as a minority black person in majority white spaces, it took me years (literally most of my life) to realize that I didn’t need to cave into the both spoken and unspoken social pressure to be more “white.” That was never going to be accessible to me, nor would be accessible to (in a way) to white people. “White” is too simple of a term to describe the complexity and uniqueness of individuals with white skin. Furthermore, as a black person, “white” would never be accessible to me and God did not want it to be. Otherwise, He would have made me “white.” Instead, he made me “black on purpose” to reflect His heart in a way that only I can, and that is true for anyone and everyone. God wants us to be who He created us to be – our color, culture, creed combination is unique to each of us and each of us alone.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I am in a pivot of sorts right now. I accomplish my mission (to build a music movement equips the Church to be reconcilers by loving ourselves and others beyond comfort) through three tactics- conversations (podcast), songs (released music) and educational materials (societal engagement guides). For a while, I’ve been trying to dive deep into all three of these tactics, however, I am realizing that because of my limited time and resources at this phase in my career, they all suffer instead of thrive. Instead, I am pivoting to focus more on the songs since they have the greatest exposure. If the songs rise, then conversations and educational materials will rise too. “A rising tide lifts all ships.”

Contact Info:

• Website: iamtemitope.com
• Instagram: @iamtemitope
• Facebook: @iamtemitope
• Youtube: /iamtemitope

Image Credits
Photos by Franco Castelo, Abby Houston and Ashley Mae Wright.