Her velvet voice rings through the quiet hall. All eyes are on her and not a few guests in attendance swung their bodies and hum the song along with her.
The name Tiwa Savage has become a household name in local music for some years. Her upbeat tunes have endeared her to both young and old most especially lovers of hip hop music.
Growing up at Isale Eko, a suburb of Lagos, Savage was like a tomboy. Back then, she didn’t care about make-up or bags or shoes, she was very free. She had a very healthy upbringing and her parents made sure she was really grounded. “I had loving brothers and I remember playing around all the time when I was a kid,” she says smiling.
It took her two years to come out with her debut album even though she has been doing several live performances. “This album is from my heart and it’s something that I worked so long for,” she says of her debut, Once Upon a Time, at the album listening party held at the Wheatbaker, Ikoyi. “A lot of people wondered why it took so long and that’s because we had to go through a lot of legal processes to clear some of the samples that we used and that took months. Also, we wanted to work with some notable producers in the States like Warren ‘Oak’ Felder who worked with Nicki Minaj and Rihanna. So, we had to work round their schedules and that’s why it took so long. This is an album that I don’t want to be the usual Nigerian album with patchy tracks from beginning to end. I want it to have a meaning.”
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‘Once Upon a Time’ is a music album yet it is a story about her life, her growing up and her path to self discovery in music. “It’s a story. My life has been an amazing journey and I wanted it to reflect that. I also wanted it to motivate budding artistes. Once Upon A Time, I was a little girl in Isale Eko who wanted to do this and here I am doing it. So, I want their once upon time to turn to reality.”
She was initially discouraged that musicians who return home from abroad rarely breakthrough the local music industry. But Savage defied the odds and today she is telling a different story.
“A lot of people discouraged me saying people who come back from abroad are not really accepted because they don’t know how to connect with Nigerians, especially for a female. They said, there’s no way a brand would endorse me, there’s no way I could be on a stage with the likes of 2Face and Wizkid and I got discouraged and I moved back to Los Angeles, United States of America after I dropped Kele Kele Love and then I dropped Love Me, Love Me. So, I moved back as people around me encouraged me that if I could be consistent I could make it.”
Savage has been largely inspired by so many things. Life, happiness, heartbreak, Nigeria as a country and circumstances are some of her sources of inspiration. “Especially in that Olorun Mi track, I felt sad for a few days and the Dana crash inspired me to do that song.”
In ‘Once Upon a Time’, she dedicates a track to her fiancé, an affair she had kept secret for a long time until online photos of her engagement ring were made public on the internet. “You know the culture here. If you’re not married and just focus on your career, people would start asking questions. He understood my journey, he was able to push me career-wise and he encourages me a lot. So, I had to do a song for him.”
Savage is currently signed on 323 Entertainment owned by Tunji Balogun (Teejay) who is also her partner but 323 it’s under Mavin Records, that oversees the label but 323 Entertainment handles her day to day activities. In addition, she is also signed to Sony in America. “
I’m signed to them as a songwriter. I write my songs, I perform but I still write for other artistes. I just did a song for Monica called Catch Me, which came out in her last album and they called me a few weeks ago that I have another song with Christian Michel. I am still signed to Sony International.”
Savage is quick to debunk rumours of competition among Nigerian female singers. Hear her: “Why should I be scared of competition? Like I said on stage, you have Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, Beyonce, Kelly Rowland and they’re all female artistes and they’re all big stars in the US. Why should it be only one person that will be known for quality music among women in Nigeria? I am actually glad that more female artistes are coming up.”
