Here are 10 things we learnt from
the revealing documentary.
1 Tiwa’s mum once thought she
might be gay due to her tom-boy
nature while growing up.
2. Her parents vehemently stood
their ground against her decision to
nurse a musical career as a young
child.
“Since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to
be an entertainer but African parents
they were like No. Choose one. Doctor,
Lawyer, Engineer or one of those
ones. Music is not an option. So I had
to go to school to study business and
accounts.”
Tiwa’s dad who was also featured in
the documentary confirmed her
passion for music at a young age and
said he gave her a condition that if
indeed music was her calling, she
would have to get a first degree in a
professional course.
He said, “She has always wanted to do
music and go into music. Growing up,
she used to organise musical shows
for all the children in the estate and
she will lead the group. So my
condition was that if you want to go
into music, you must have your first
degree, finish your secondary
education, go to university and after
that you can go into music.”
3. She had to get a job to self-
finance her musical career in its
primitive stages.
After university, Tiwa needed money
to kick-start her career in music so
heeding to her parent’s advice, she
was forced to get a day job as a
trainee accountant – a job she quit as
she sunk into a depressive state after
getting ‘tired of counting other
people’s money’ and wanting to make
hers.
“So when I graduated, I said to my
dad ‘Here is your degree, I have given
you want you want and I’m going to
do music’. They were like ‘No, you
can’t move to America, you need
money’ So I got a job as a trainee
accountant and I got tired of counting
other people’s money.I wanted to start
counting my own money because I
thought Hey there is a whole lot of
money around here. What’s going on?
That was a transition. It got to a point
that every morning I’ll wake up and
I’ll be depressed going to work. I
wanted to sing and at that point I was
prepared to lose everything. That’s
when I knew there was a big calling
on my life to do this.”
4. Tiwa Savage revealed how
TeeBillz, her former manager helped
give her image a face-lift and build
the Tiwa Savage brand.
The Mavin star expressed how she felt
she couldn’t compete with the women
in Los Angeles after she moved to the
city of angels on the completion of
her music course at the Berkley
college of music.
She said’, “I moved to America. I went
to study music at the Berkley college
of music. Then I moved to L.A. Now
when you move to L.A. There are a
lot of beautiful people there. Their
skin is glowing, their teeth is perfect,
their hair is amazing and I’m like
looking around and for someone who
doesn’t wax, I have like a uni-brow.”
She then met TeeBillz who became
her manager and molded her into the
Tiwa Savage brand we know today.
She said, “I needed to do something
and I met my manager who is now
my husband. He saw me and was like
‘you could be really pretty if you put
an effort into it’ and I was like ‘wait
what do you mean’ and he was like
‘you need to lose a little weight, wax
your legs; that might be attractive. So
he just literally put me through this
whole program and told me that ‘the
music is great, the talent is there but
80% of it is branding’. ‘So if you want
to do the tom-boy thing, you have to
take it to the extreme if you want to
be hot and sexy you have to take it to
the extreme. So I started learning how
to wear heels and he basically just
groomed me into the image of Tiwa
Savage that we see now.
5. Tiwa explained how her and
TeeBillz had their ‘fair share of
marital ups and downs’, even
narrating how they had a little
argument at their wedding
reception.
Of course we know what has befallen
their marriage but in this
documentary which was shot months
before their infamous split, Tiwa
discussed how they had issues like
every other normal couple.
“Everybody who is married knows
that there are up and downs in
marriages and we had our fair share,”
she said.
She further narrated how they fought
on their wedding day.
“So we just had this little tiff outside
and we are like arguing and everyone
is like ‘welcome the beautiful bride
and the groom and we are dancing in
and he’s just like grumbling and it’s
on camera. So everyone watching are
like ‘Wait where you guys just
arguing so it’s real but there are cute
moments and real moments,” She told
E!.
6. Tiwa Savage is not so into writing
deep songs
The Mavin singer said her musical
formula for her big hits does not
include her writing deep songs that
people don’t know what she is talking
about because it can get so deep that
the message could be lost.
“I am not really into writing
something so deep that even you don’t
understand what you saying. It’s so
deep that the message gets lost. I feel
there is a balance. You can be clever
and witty with some of your words.
When I write, it’s a combination of
maybe what I have gone through, I
have seen people got through or
sometimes it’s just what I know
people want to hear. Ultimately,
people just want to hear good music.
So I focus all of my energy on music
and performances.”
7. Tiwa revealed how the birth of
Jamil, her son, has re-energized her
will to work harder.
Tiwa described how much joy and
happiness Jamil has brought into her
life. She is however, frightened for
him due to the cruelty of the world.
For this reason, she has vowed to put
in more work to ensure a secure and
brighter future for her precious little
man.
“Every time I think of that little man,
it’s a mixture of emotions. I’m happy,
blessed but sometimes I’m also a little
scared. He’s so precious. You and I
know how cruel this world can be but
sometimes I feel like he should just
stay in this age where i can always
protect him. Every time when I wake
up and I see him, all of that just goes
through my mind makes me work so
much harder. I work so much more
because I want leave a legacy for him.
I want him to be proud of his mum. I
want him to one day look at this
interview with his wife and be like
‘that’s my mama’. You know.”
8. Tiwa Savage explained how
motherhood has had an impact on
her brand.
“My brand is built on the young,
sexy, fresh, sassy, female singer and
now I got a few rules here and there.
Stretch marks (laughs) but I have to
embrace those scars because that’s
what reminds me of the miracle that I
had.”
“So I like to talk about it a lot
especially to African women because
we hide behind it and we don’t talk
about the real issues that comes with
it. The pressure to lose weight. It’s
fine if you never looked how you did
before. You had a baby, if you had to
choose between getting your old body
back and choosing that baby, I’m sure
everybody would choose that baby. So
I will embrace my new body because I
have a son.”
9. ‘The love is real’ in Mavin.
According to the Mavin singer, there
are hardly any rifts between the
artistes signed to the Don Jazzy-led
label.
She said, “I hear rumours of rivalry
between artistes in record labels but
the love is real in Mavin. Definitely.
We all have different lanes and I
think that’s what helps because we
don’t feel like we are competing with
each other. Everybody has different
images and different sounds.”
10. Tiwa revealed her desire to work
with American award-winning
artiste, Beyonce and Rihanna
“I would love to work with Beyonce.
She is married. She has child of her
own. She is still hot. Rihanna is that
fierce alter-ego we all have in us. In
front of the mirror, we all pretend to
be Rihanna.
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