BUILDING HER EMPIRE: Tiwa Savage
Between her commitment to choreography to the flawless vocals, the message in that moment was clear: “Born to do this … Prego or not,” she wrote on social media.
Fast-forward a year and the Lagos-born performer is no longer sporting a baby bump, as she welcomed her first child last July, and is now celebrating the birth of her latest musical offering, a sophomore album titled R.E.D (Romantic, Expression and Dance).
On the follow up to her debut album, the seasoned performer is clear on how the final product is both a labour of love and evidence of progression.
“Musically, it’s definitely more focused,” Savage says. “Once Upon a Time was my first album and it had so many different things, from neo-soul to afro-pop and reggae. With R.E.D, there are less tracks, so it’s more compact, and one person – Don Jazzy – mainly produced it, so the sound has a wholeness to it.
“My fans will listen to it and hear the growth, both vocally and musically. I also know the market a lot more and the sounds that work, but they will still hear the Tiwa they fell in love with.”
The 16-track album features popular songs including wedding anthem My Darlin’, Standing Ovation and guest appearances from the likes of Busy Signal on the single Keys to the City.
Balancing would appear to be a skill the wife and mother-of-one does well after completing her album while pregnant and kicking off her promotional campaign within months of giving birth.
“I want to debunk that myth – and it’s not just for me,” Savage says with conviction. “Whether you’re a doctor, a nurse, a politician, anything, once you’re married and have kids, there are people who will say you can’t be an entrepreneur, a business mogul or still be at the top of your game.
“I’m going to work my butt off to encourage other women. I want them to know that it is not the end; it’s just the beginning. We’re built for this, women are much stronger than we give ourselves credit for.”
From background vocalist to the headline act, Savage’s ascension to the top of Africa’s entertainment industry has been premised on setting a new standard for female artists, and a core understanding of the music industry, demonstrated by her degree in Professional Music and the tightly run ship that is the Tiwa Savage brand.
The present climate and growing influence of the afrobeat genre has resulted in landmark signings of African stars to major international labels.
While it would appear to be a matter of time before the singer is presented with a deal of her own, Savage, who has been signed as a songwriter to Sony/ATV in Los Angeles since 2009, is in no rush to sign a major label deal as an artist.
“I’ve worked with a lot of artists who get signed to major labels but are on the shelf for a long time,” she says. “It works for some artists. For me, it isn’t very important. Kudos to those that are doing it, I think it’s a great move, but I want to expand my brand to a point where it’s so big that I’m not the one chasing for the deal – it’s them calling me.”
The formation of Savage as we see her today is the result of a calculated risk and the advice of the man that would become her manager and later her husband, Tunji ‘TJ’ Balogun.
Offered the opportunity to sign to a label as an R&B singer while she was living in LA, Savage’s spouse convinced her that accepting the deal wouldn’t have been the best move for her career.
“[As an R&B singer] I would have been one of millions,” she says. “TJ advised me to go back home [to Nigeria.] He told me: ‘There’s a void with the female artists, this is something you could really take advantage of and you can do something amazing.’ That was basically the start of the move back to Nigeria.”
Back on home ground, Savage arguably rules the roost. As one of the continent’s most prominent female artists, she has earned legions of fans, awards and lucrative deals, including being unveiled as the first female ambassador for drinks giant Pepsi in Africa.
“As an artist, a celebrity, you are literally living in a glass bowl, so everything about your life is scrutinised,” said Savage on being in the public eye.”
After giving birth to her son Jamil last year, the star was the subject of online attacks for several months, when angry fans demanded that she share images of her child via social media.
Responding to the abuse Savage is clear: “When it comes to my son, I really couldn’t care less what people think. He’s my miracle. Absolutely nothing can pressure me into doing anything that I’m not comfortable with or that I don’t think is best for him.
“Obviously, we were going to show him eventually. But as people know, I’m in this industry, TJ is in this industry but he [Jamil] hasn’t chosen this life. So I wanted the first few months to be about us, and close family and friends, bonding with him – not to be bombarded with comments like ‘why is he light?’, ‘why is he dark?’ or ‘why are his fingers like this?’
“We just wanted to keep that away and really get to know this little boy, get to know his character; what makes him smile, what makes him cry.”
Still, the proud mum says she chooses to focus on the positive rather than the negative of social media and fan engagement.
She says: “I owe to those people who support and encourage me to continue to be happy and be positive.”
Alongside the many roles Savage already plays, the singer is committed to being an advocate for change. Unveiled as the face of the National Ambassadors of Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative’s (NURHI) ‘Get It Together’ family planning campaign, the singer feels that conversations about sexual health need to be had.
“Sex is real,” she says. “We are all sexual beings and I think in Africa we don’t talk about it enough, and because of that, a lot of people are making a lot of mistakes.”
Despite considerable efforts being made to reduce the number of new HIV infections in Nigeria, due to its overwhelming size the country still accounts for a large proportion of infections and only 24 per cent of young people in 2012 could correctly identify ways to prevent sexual transmission of HIV.
“A lot of young people don’t know what is available. They’ve had it drummed into their heads ‘just don’t have sex’ and that’s not realistic anymore.
“We know that they’re going to have sex, but we can ensure that they have safe sex. That’s what I am always trying to get people to talk about – to know their options and, where we can, to empower people if they want to say ‘no, its not time, I’m not ready’. People can be strong enough to say that.”
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