Tems won her first NAACP Image award on Monday night for her cover of Bob Marley’s “No Woman, No Cry” featured on the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack. The song won the award for Outstanding International Song category at the 54th annual NAACP Image Awards.
The Image Awards presented by the NAACP recognizes the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in 80 competitive categories, including film, television, streaming, music, literature, and podcasts.
Along with Tems, Shenseea was also nominated in the Outstanding International Song category for “Diana” along with “Bad To Me” by Wizkid (RCA Records/Starboy/Sony Music International), “Last Last” by Burna Boy (Atlantic Records), and “Stand Strong” by Davido featuring Sunday Service Choir (RCA Records/Sony Music UK).
Meanwhile, Rihanna has also announced the winner of the Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album category for her song “Lift Me Up,” which was one of two soundtracks she recorded to be used as soundtracks for the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever released late last year.
In the meantime, the NAACP Image Awards will continue to announce the winners for the non-televised categories throughout this week, leading to the final live ceremony on Saturday, February 25, on BET from the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in California.
Tem’s cover of “No Woman No Cry” was released in July 2022 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. The track spent almost a dozen weeks on the US Afrobeats Songs Chart, peaking at No. 7 and also peaked at No. 50 on the Billboard US Digital Song Sales chart.
The original “No Woman No Cry” was co-produced by Bob Marley, Chris Blackwell, and Steve Smith and released on the legendary reggae artist’s 1974 album ‘Natty Dread.’
Rolling Stone ranked Marley’s live version of the track as the No. 37 Greatest Songs of All Time, particularly for its themes that spoke to the economic and other oppressive circumstances that women faced in Jamaica in the 1970s that resonated with the hardships women faced across the world.
