Popular music sensation, Tiwa Savage, has opened up about her journey from being a tomboy to becoming one of Nigeria’s most iconic sex symbols in the music industry.
In a candid conversation on the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast hosted by Joey Akan, Tiwa revealed that her early days as a songwriter overseas were far from the glamorous image she’s now known for. She used to wear oversized clothes and maintained a low-key, laid-back appearance.
Everything changed when she returned to Nigeria to launch her singing career. Her then-husband and former manager, Tunji Balogun (Teebillz), played a pivotal role in reshaping her public image.
Tiwa recounted:
“The sexiness in my 2024 single ‘Wanted’ music video felt groundbreaking at that time. Because I just got married and there’s a lot of press saying, ‘She’s not going to be desirable anymore. She’s finished. Her time is gone. There are new people on the scene.’ So, I was just like, let me do something crazy.
“That was me being rebellious. I was like, Oh! You guys think I’m not sexy anymore? To be honest, that wasn’t the aim, to just try to be sexy. Because naturally, I’m not. Naturally, I’m a tomboy. But again, TJ [Tunji Balogun] saw that there was a gap in the market and he was just like, you’ve to lose weight, you’ve to go to the gym, you’ve to start waxing your eyebrows. You’ve to start wearing wigs. He literally changed my whole appearance. I was not like that in L.A. when he met me.
“I used to be a songwriter in the studio wearing baggy jeans and t-shirt. And he literally changed that. I don’t think that he thought there was going to be a backlash. He was just like, let’s give them the African Rihanna or Beyoncé. I was like, okay, let’s go ahead. And we came back to Nigeria, but my fashion sense attracted criticism. Then, I ran back to L.A.
“I was really bad. I would go to shows and I would be waiting backstage and they wouldn’t call me because maybe the governor’s wife had said I can’t come up or they’d say, make sure you don’t wear any of those your skimpy dresses. I’m not making this up. There was a time, ‘Love Me’ was banned on TV. I was discouraged. I remembered Bizzle called me and told me ladies were loving me, so I came back to Nigeria. I’ve told the story where I went to all the labels and they all said no, Storm Records, Mo’Hits, Banky W’s EME, everyone.”
Despite the hurdles, Tiwa Savage’s resilience and authenticity helped her carve a path to stardom, eventually becoming one of the most influential female artists on the African continent.