Highlighting the Life and Music of Tiwa Savage

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Nigerian songstress Tiwa Savage never had ambitions to ever do music when growing up but it all changed when she started crushing on this guy who was in her school in London. 

Today, thanks to this high school crush, she is an inspiration to scores of women in the entertainment industry across Nigeria and Africa by extension. She is glad that people refer to her as The Beyonce of Africa. Yet, she released her first single when she was 31 and has only become stronger and more resolute over the years.

Very often referred to as the queen of Afrobeats and RnB in Nigeria, Tiwa was born in Nigeria in 1980. She has three elder brothers. When she turned 10, her mother Cecilia Savage told her that they would move to London for a holiday and return to Nigeria. But this was never to be. 

Early Life in London

The shock on Savage when her mother informed her as soon as they landed in London that this would be her new home which she fought against but didn’t have much of a choice. She transitioned to high school in London where life became unbearable because of bullying. 

In a past interview with Bounce, she narrates that her heavy Nigerian accent and her shaved head made her a subject of ridicule in class. Her four years of bullying was from a group of Jamaican girls. It was so bad that she contemplated suicide twice. 

“It was so bad that I literally tried to kill myself two times. I was really depressed, I was really bullied,” she opens up. Tiwa Savage felt so insecure about her dark skin that she also tried to bleach herself but her mother stopped her. Interestingly, she crushed on a young man who always hung out with the Jamaican girls who bullied her but didn’t know how to get his attention. But she devised a way to get his attention. Then, her school had a play, Sound of Music and she approached her music teacher to join but it was too late because the auditions were over. Nonetheless, she convinced her music teacher and she was given a trial song. 

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How Did Tiwa Savage Start Singing?

She aced the auditions and her impressed music teacher gave her a slot in the Sound of Music play. Besides impressing her crush who she excitedly remembers as Kevin, someone spotted her and linked her to an audition as a backup singer for George Michael. She was 15 at the time and this made her a celebrity in school and the bullying stopped. Life was good for her as a teen, making money while still in school as a backup singer. The ‘Koroba’ hitmaker pursued an accounting degree from the University of Kent after high school while still doing backups for various other artists. Her turning point came when she met a guy who played the drums for American Music Group Black Eyed Peas. He recommended she study music and she sought for a scholarship to study music in the US. She was successful and had to leave London for Berkley College of Music in Boston where she graduated in 2007. 

Did Tiwa Savage Launch Her Professional Singing Career in the US?

At 27 in the US with a degree in music, she moved to Los Angeles just to experience its beauty but ended up living in a shelter for six months. She couldn’t legally work on a student visa which still had a year before expiring so she spent most of her time recording in the studio. She got several gigs as a backup singer and as a waitress in restaurants. Tiwa saved up and left Los Angeles for Brooklyn, New York where she got a small house and continued with her hustle as a backup singer and waitress. 

One day while recording in the studio, American singer Fantasia heard her sing and she was impressed. In 2009 she linked her to Sony Music Publishing who cut her a fat cheque and she relocated back to Los Angeles to have a full experience of its music industry. With good cash in hand, she bought a Toyota Yaris and set aside a one-year rent budget in LA. There she recorded at least 600 songs and used them to pitch to different artists. In the end, she did some vocal work for Monicah and Christine Michelle. 

Why Did Tiwa Savage Return to Nigeria?

What made her come back? Nigeria had started listening to authentic Nigerian music. 2Baba, Psquare and Dbanj inspired her to come back. The ‘Kele Kele’ singer wanted to do something different from RnB and she terminated her music publishing deal with Sony and headed back to Nigeria. Astonishingly, no label would sign her at the time. She went to Storm Records, Motown, Yemmy and MoHits and they all turned her down because they each had a female artist they were working with at the time. 

In 2012 Don Jazzy signed her to Mavin Records in partnership with 323 Label which was owned by Tiwa Savage and her then-husband, Tee Billz. Under Mavin Records, she released her critically acclaimed sophomore album R.E.D with guest appearances from Don Jazzy, Olamide, Reekado Banks, 2baba, Dr Sid, and Iceberg Slim among others.

Although she eventually left Mavin Records after seven years, she is Beverly grateful to Don Jazzy and the team for believing in her. Her leaving opened the attention for the label to focus on other artists such as Rema, Boy Spyce, and Crayon among others. 

What Impact Has Tiwa Savage Made on Naija Music Industry?

Looking back at her journey to stardom, Tiwa Savage remains humble that her craft caught the eye of Multiple Grammy Award winner Beyonce. She was enlisted to work on her Lion King project in 2019. 

To add to her bag of success, the University of Kent awarded the ‘Somebody’s Son’ crooner an honorary doctorate degree in music in July 2022.  In retrospect, she said that her success is a result of never giving up on music since she was 16. 

“My prayer is that you one day will stand like this addressing students because you too have gone out into the world and you never gave up,” said Dr Savage.

Back home, Tiwa Savage who describes herself as an adventurous loner expounds on the struggle of unfair expectations/treatment for women in the industry. Unlike her male colleagues in the industry who enjoy the liberty to pull any stance in their music, Savage painfully points out that the scales are always tilted against women. She has been on the receiving end over raunchy music videos and her music banned but it is not the case for male artists. 

She says there are many inequality battles she fights behind the lenses because the game is never in favour of female artists. There are times she has been forced to push back the release dates for her music and ridiculed for on-stage performance and some male artists understand her struggles but never speak out because they have their problems to sort out too.

While some may brand her a feminist, she conflicts with these opinions on her resoluteness to domestic submission. She fights for a just cause such as ending gender-based violence (GBV) and abuse of small boys and girls. However, as an artist of international repute, she is pro-submission for a woman in a family setting.

She is fascinated by Tems’ rise in the Afrobeats scene as well as Teni's and is always excited about Simi when she drops something new. Contrary to popular belief, she has no beef with Yemi Alade; the two artists relate well and while they don’t talk often, Yemi has been very warm to her whenever she needed her. Although Tiwa Savage has worked with numerous artists in and out of Nigeria, her ultimate collaboration remains working with Rihanna.

Aside from her music, Tiwa Savage is also an advocate for women's rights and has used her platform to raise awareness about important social issues affecting women in Africa. In 2020, she released a powerful song titled "Koroba," which addresses the issue of sexual harassment and assault in Nigeria.

Tiwa Savage's music and advocacy have made a tremendous impact on the African music industry and beyond. She has inspired young African women to pursue their dreams and use their talents to make a positive difference in the world.

Now 43, is she about to call in time? Not yet. “I just signed my recording deal at 40,” she remarks in a Bounce interview adding that the international scene doesn’t care about her age. “I didn’t have that luxury of being a child star, I just didn’t, that’s my journey so I am not gonna penalize because of that and I’ll never allow anyone to make me stop my journey before it’s my time. I won’t even allow myself to do that and obviously, my time is not up here.”

With a career spanning over a decade, Tiwa Savage has become and is at the very top of the list of the most successful and influential African female artists of all time.