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A Fly Time With Tiwa Savage

By Akinwale Akinyoade
15 December 2019   |   6:00 am
From being just another girl with a dream doing backup vocals to international artists like George Michael and Mary J. Blige, the ‘African Bad Girl’, Tiwa Savage has grown to be one of the biggest music stars to come out of Africa. Think of the ingredients that make a superstar and Tiwa Savage has it,…

Tiwa Savage

From being just another girl with a dream doing backup vocals to international artists like George Michael and Mary J. Blige, the ‘African Bad Girl’, Tiwa Savage has grown to be one of the biggest music stars to come out of Africa.

Think of the ingredients that make a superstar and Tiwa Savage has it, chart-topping songs, multiple prestigious awards, sold-out shows both locally and internationally, a loyal fan base, the rich, fabulous and fashionable lifestyle!

The sultry entertainer who relocated to London at the preteen age of 11 returned to Nigeria to pursue a music career. She signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2009, and in 2012, she signed with Mavin Records. In June 2016, Savage signed a management and publishing deal with Roc Nation while in May 2019, she announced her record deal with Universal Music Group and exit from Mavin Records.

Savage’s exit from Mavin Records met with a lot of buzzes with Don Jazzy, the label boss praising her stay with the label. Don Jazzy disclosed that the One crooner was asked to leave Mavin Records four years ago but she chose to stay back and grow the brand.

He further disclosed that his love for her is forever. He says:

“It’s obvious to everybody, it was an epic journey… The business was dope, and she is actually one of my favourite business partners of all time. It was beautiful, she understood from the get-go till now.”

Tiwa Savage

Her signing to Universal Music Group is only the beginning of another journey to musical greatness for Tiwa Savage because she describes it as a learning curve. As opposed to the mentality that signing with an international label means relaxation and taking things slow, she says it is actually the time to push and work harder.

Pushing harder is all that is on Savage’s mind because with the growing global acceptance of her music is also the added responsibility of catering to the earbuds of a larger audience. One would think her sound might change to accommodate her growing diverse fan base but she is more about making music that moves. She says,

“I just make music. I don’t think about making music that will appeal to an international crowd, or a local crowd, I just make the music that moves me.”

Her loyal fans, Savage Soldiers, are ever ready to support the “Queen” no matter what she does hence why she believes her day one fans love her new music even as she adds new ones along the way of her music growth.

Music that moves is what drives Tiwa because her latest album, 49:99, with its title track lead single met with positive reviews and continues to enjoy massive radio play till date. The track’s acceptance spanned across Africa and ‘served as a great launchpad’ of her international music career.

As a way of pushing the Savage brand further, her label and management brokered a number of deals with pretty much all the DSPs to support the campaign. That support included a huge billboard in Times Square courtesy of online streaming platform YouTube.

Although she describes seeing herself on a billboard in Times Square as a ‘surreal experience’, she also understands that her transition into becoming an even bigger star than she already is, needs more than just a billboard feature. Hence her need for a persona restricting with her sound and music business strategy.

The transition she says is important to get her to where she plans to be. She shares,….

To read more on this, grab a copy of The Guardian Life’s Magazine today….

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