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– Tiwa Savage, the entertainer whose career is perfectly modelled on resilience, talent and media savviness – The Nigerian pop star is currently arguably Africa’s biggest female musician – We take a look at her journey from the bottom to the zenith of her career, as well as the hurdles she’s scaled – At the end of the day, there’s no mistaking that the 36-year-old entertainer is on a major trajectory The year 2016 will remain one hell of a year in history particularly for the dramas, as well as the phenomenal twists and turns in the entertainment industry. In addition, analysts will remember it as a year in which a lot of Nigerian sounds broke out of the clutter of Africa’s underdevelopment in terms of entertainment, and onto the global stage. The paradigm shift became favourable, with Nigerian urban and pop culture earning a sizable proportion of global dominance with the likes of Wizkid, Ayo Jay, Tiwa Savage and Seyi Shay at the forefront of things. Other names have also arisen at this critical point in our nation’s history but we are particularly impressed by Mavin Records’ vocal powerhouse, Tiwatope Savage. Tiwa Savage and Dr SID on Tiwa Savage and Dr SID on stage at the Mavins UK concert in 2014. Starting from the bottom, rising beyond backup vocals In case you missed the details of her earlier days, Tiwa Savage rose from the bottom like every other underground artiste and with persistence and pure talent she has made it this far. She rose from doing backups for much more established acts like Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige, George Michael, Blu Cantrell, Kelly Clarkson and the iconic Andrea Bocelli. READ ALSO: Tiwa Savage, Tee Billz and understanding issues in celebrity marriages Tiwa Savage has continued to soar as Africa’s shining star with her music cutting into the remotest of locations in the world, and we have the Nigerian entertainment industry to thank for all of this. The returns are astronomical as we speak, with more opportunities opening up and bigger international partnerships coming to the fore. The industry has stepped up especially with the support of social media in this day and age, and the result is that more Nigerian entertainers are selling out shows, recording mega album sales and incredible numbers from streaming and downloads. With all of this, however, we can’t take away the glass ceiling issues in the Nigerian entertainment space. It is still, to a large extent, an affair strictly for the men as only a handful of ladies have gone past the glass ceiling phenomenon in Nigerian entertainment. In a nutshell, only a few ladies have ‘struck gold’ with their music as far as going professional down here is concerned. Tiwa’s return to Nigeria and the Don Jazzy factor Going back to the 2000s, Tiwa was a newbie whose artistry and musicianship were hardly recognized even though she was already stepping gradually into the core of things by virtue of her songwriting abilities. She was based in the US at the time. So clearly, she grew over time. She started from level one and built her craft to the point of major prominence, but not before returning to Nigeria in 2010. Tiwa Savage was, in major respects, always going to be a star. This is a logical viewpoint considering that in 2010, with the song Kele Kele Love produced by Harmony Samuels, the starry-eyed, petite singer was already making some noise with a little buzz here and there. You could tell she was wired for the big stage; that she was built for stardom and everything associated with it. Dr Sid and wife Simi hang out Dr Sid and wife Simi hang out with Tiwa Savage and Tee Billz. Credit: Instagram Upon relocating to Nigeria, she was first signed to Flytime Entertainment under Cecil Hammond but left in 2011 to pitch her tent with Mavin Records following its creation in 2012. The growth continued from that point and with the help of Don Jazzy she continued to morph her sounds into something more in tune with the market back here at home, so that by 2013 into 2014 Tiwa was already on the cusp of writing history, and history she did write with her hit songs in terms of awards, audience base and then social media following. Tee Billz, marriage drama and image crisis Her slightly blotted reputation of April 2016 regardless, we can’t take away Tiwa’s shine and musicianship today. Taking it back a bit, her closeness with her former manager and friend Tunji ‘Tee Billz’ Balogun blossomed into a romantic relationship and then into a marriage, even though short-lived. Like every other relationship there were stumbling blocks, but they kept at it and by February 2013 Tee Billz proposed to Tiwa on a breezy evening in a Lagos restaurant during a private dinner with a few friends and loved ones. It was her 33rd birthday on the day and it was only fitting given their love affair and how much she was achieving with the music. READ ALSO: 7 lessons from ensuing drama between Tee Billz and Tiwa Savage In November 2013, they had a traditional wedding in Lagos which was heavily attended by industry folks and fellow entertainers and by April 2014 they flew out to Dubai and shut down celebrations with a picture-perfect, lavish wedding. It was emotion- charged and sweet on the outside; so sweet the couple was dubbed one of Nigeria’s celebrity power couples. But as they say, the grass is always greener on the other side. Insiders had earlier hinted to the public that things were falling apart between the pair and before long it was general knowledge that they were battling many troubles in their relationship; troubles that though speculated upon were later corroborated by Tee Billz’s Instagram meltdown of Thursday, April 28, 2016, as well as by Tiwa’s all-revealing interview with Azuka Ogujiuba of This Day on April 29, 2016. But as we established earlier here, Tiwa was wired for this greatness. She was built for the stardom and following the brouhaha and the collapse of her marriage, she rose swiftly like a phoenix from the ashes. Musicianship, media relations and public image She is currently reportedly in a major partnership with Jay Z’s Roc Nation following her musicianship and the acclaim of her catalogue. She was also featured in a mini documentary on E! on June 12, 2016. It is surprising that despite the setbacks, she is back and popping. But again, it is not entirely surprising. If anything, this whole episode shows how she clearly understands the mantra “more action, less talk”. We say this because all through her widely-publicized marriage troubles of April 2016, she kept off social media and never let the media use her to their advantage. No. Instead, what she did was address the issues at hand in her interview with Azuka of This Day. And that was it. She moved on almost immediately afterwards, as though unscathed, as though she didn’t have a drop of worry in the entire universe. She gets an A for that, just as her catalogue continues to set her ahead of her peers. Mavin Records pop star Tiwa Mavin Records’ pop star Tiwa Savage As the 36-year-old mother of one continues to soar in her unmatched trajectory as a Nigerian pop star, the major elements that have kept her in pole position remain her resilience, her understanding of the dynamics of publicity and media relations and then her musicianship which she has married with Don Jazzy’s creativity. READ ALSO: 5 key lessons from Tiwa Savage’s new ‘marriage’ We say this because by now it is no surprise that Jazzy is the muse behind the music for a lot of Nigerian artistes. His influence and the lack of it, currently, in Dbanj’s music is crystal clear. His inputs in the Nigerian music space have seen him put the likes of Dr. SID, Korede Bello and Reekado Banks on, among others. Yes, Jazzy is that good. What’s next for Tiwa Savage? Tiwa Savage is on the cusp of major greatness today. She has the world ‘at her beck and call’ and there’s hardly any mistaking the fact that whatever she touches now will become gold in no time, as far as music is concerned. The questions now will be: is she ready for what lies in front? Does she understand what position she currently occupies? And lastly, will she make history with her music so that others can penetrate the teeming, global music market? We say these things because in the past, Dbanj had a decent closeness with Hollywood in his fling with Kanye West and Jay Z but he flopped pitiably either owing to complacency, misplaced priorities or a deficit in his creativity as the ‘talismanic’ Don Jazzy was missing in action for him. That era, with its peculiar failure, temporarily ‘closed’ the openings for our entertainers and now that we have it again by virtue of Tiwa Savage and the rest, losing it again might spell doom for our getting into the biggest stages in world entertainment, don’t you think? Want to read news with extra convenience? Install our app from HERE SHARE THIS NEWS! Facebook Twitter WhatsApp Email