“What You Need” has reached 30 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, reported across the Nigerian music press this week — at No. 33 on the chart dated October 24, 2026. Billboard has not published a longer run for a solo song by an African artist. The previous mark, 29 weeks, was held jointly by Tyla’s “Water” and CKay’s “Love Nwantiti.”
The record needs its qualifier. Longer African-involved runs on the Hot 100 exist — Rema and Selena Gomez’s “Calm Down” spent 57 weeks, and “Wait for U,” which features Tems herself, ran 41 — but those are collaborations, not solo songs. And Tyla keeps one crown: “Water” peaked at No. 7, well above “What You Need.”
The song is a slow burn by the numbers. It debuted at No. 93 on the chart dated February 14, 2026, after a COLORS performance released January 29, and climbed to a peak of No. 29 — Tems’ highest Hot 100 position as a solo artist. On the radio charts it went further: No. 1 on Billboard’s Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay, Adult R&B Airplay and Rhythmic Airplay charts, and No. 5 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
The record, in brief
- “What You Need”: 30 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100; No. 33 on the chart dated Oct. 24, 2026; peak No. 29
- The solo record: passes 29 weeks by Tyla’s “Water” and CKay’s “Love Nwantiti” (longer African runs are collaborations: “Calm Down,” 57 weeks)
- Debuted No. 93 (chart dated Feb. 14, 2026); No. 1 on three Billboard airplay charts
- From the EP Love Is a Kingdom (Nov. 21, 2025, RCA / Since ’93); written by Tems alone, produced by Tems and GuiltyBeatz
“What You Need” is from Tems’ EP Love Is a Kingdom, surprise-released November 21, 2025, via RCA and Since ’93. Tems — Temilade Openiyi, born June 11, 1995, in Lagos — is the song’s sole writer; she produced it with GuiltyBeatz. It is her seventh Hot 100 entry and only her second as a solo artist; at its debut she became the first African female artist with seven Hot 100 entries. She is a two-time Grammy winner.
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