By Vongai Mbara
Nigerian award winning songstress Tiwa Savage has opened up about the current situation in Nigeria, working on her album ‘Celia’, turning 40, as well as working with Beyonce on the Lion King soundtrack.
In her latest appearance on The Dotty Show, Tiwa addressed the recently held #EndSars protests across Nigeria, which she was one of the major voices that helped propel the movement.
“We want justice for Nigeria. But for me, it’s a bigger picture. I feel like as a woman of colour, if I’m not free, nobody else is free. So a Jamaican, a Black American, a Black British, I feel like the fight is for everyone and it’s not just for Nigerians because there’s so many things going on in other countries and on the [African] continent, like Congo,” said Tiwa.
On making her highly anticipated album ‘Celia’, Tiwa revealed that she had to take time away from her family to focus on recording.
“I literally started at the beginning of the year, I took out like a whole month, I didn’t listen to anything. I had a camp in Nigeria, I rented out like nine rooms. I didn’t even see my family. I was there day in day out”, said Tiwa.
Even though Tiwa describes ‘Celia’ her as her best offering thus far, she opened up about dealing with a lot of pressure during its creative process.
“I worked from pain, I was under pressure, I was about to turn 40, I was scared, I was nervous. I was just signed to Universal. I wasn’t with Mavin anymore. There was so much that was happening in my life, and I was coming from a very scared place when I worked on Celia”, she said.
Tiwa’s album coincidentally has songs that highlights social injustices, a cancer that is currently destroying many African countries.
“I had songs on the album that literally are reflective of the time. I’m just thankful to God that I was able to use my platform. I feel more comfortable releasing those songs now because those songs were just really speaking on injustice.
“The next single is with Naira Marley. It’s called ‘Ole’ and it’s just basically talking about people in power stealing from the poor people”, said Tiwa.
The Afro-pop queen praised Beyonce for including her and fellow African artists on her Lion King soundtrack.
“To have someone like that like co-sign a lot of artists and use her platform is just amazing. I definitely feel like it opened me up to some people who probably didn’t know who Tiwa Savage was.
“Absolutely, there’s no denying it. She’s Beyonce, it’s huge. And Lion King is a huge project. I grew up watching it, my son still watches it. It’s just one of those timeless films”, said Tiwa.
She also expressed her excitement on the global appeal of Afrobeats.
“I do feel like as a genre because of what Fela has put in and people like 2Face and D’Banj and everybody else, it’s been a long time coming for the genre”, she said.
The 40 year old mother of 1 said she embraces her age and has never felt more confident.
“I had a record with Sam Smith, and it’s like so many other things are happening that have never happened in my 20s. So God was saying to me age has nothing to do with that, and every platform, every interview, I have I always name dropped my age because I feel like a lot of people run away from it.
“I’m proud of it because I’ve never felt more confident and I don’t want a 20-year-old girl who’s out there who hasn’t won a Grammy or who hasn’t been signed to feel like it’s never going to happen, all you have to do is look at me”, said Tiwa. Telly Africa
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