I Am Used To People Making Fun About Me – Tiwa Savage

Premium Times had an a chat with Mavin
Record’s First Lady, Tiwa Savage, at an
event in Lagos on Tuesday. In the interview,
the pretty mother of one spoke about her
career and controversies.
Read after the cut…
How have you handled all the controversies
that trailed your marriage in April?
It’s been the grace of God and I think I have
been able to pull through by simply
immersing myself in my work.
And the bad press and ‘nasty’ things written
about you?
Generally speaking all that has been written
about me doesn’t really affect me anymore.
When I got into the industry initially, it was
very difficult for anybody to realise this. But
now, I have come to the realisation that the
hard work you put in and the positive things
that you do as an artiste always outweighs
the negative. Whether you’re in the media, a
banker or a nurse, you’re going to have
people talk about you. Not everyone loves
Jesus Christ so who am I to talk about
people saying things about me? You can’t
make everyone happy. I don’t try to waste
time on people that don’t love me, so I just
spend time with people that love me so I
don’t disappoint them.
How do you handle embarrassing moments?
I don’t really think that I have had
embarrassing moments like that. But I did
have one recently while performing on the
stage; where my cloth ripped off. I grew up
around boys and my brothers teased me a
lot. So, I am used to people making fun
about me. I don’t take life too seriously and
also, Mavin Records comprises of men; Di’ja
and I are the only females. My male
colleagues are all fun to be around. So when
something embarrassing happens, I just take
it laugh off and never take it to heart.
What is next for Tiwa Savage?
The next stage is how to work and break
into the international market. I definitely
don’t want to forget my Nigerian roots. I
think that when you sign international deal,
there is this tendency to forget home. We
artistes also tend to forget that the main
reason they signed you is because you were
doing very well at home, so you can’t forget
that. So, I am basically just trying to strike a
balance with both audience and market. My
dream is to grow the Tiwa Savage brand at
home and abroad.
Tell us how you got signed on with Jay Z’s
Roc Nation?
There’s a guy called Briant “Bee-High” Biggs;
he is Jay Z’s cousin. He also doubles as
Roc Nation’s current director of mobile
strategies. He had been visiting Nigeria for
few months to scout for fresh talents in
Africa. The aim was to get these artistes and
Jay Z’s label into the global market. I guess
Brian had been monitoring my music and my
career through the years before deciding to
go with me. I guess he went with me
because I am female while his other
partners/remaining scouts were getting male
artists. He wanted to strike a deal with a
female artiste because the biggest artistes in
America like Rihanna and Adele are all
females. So, he really believes that there is a
market for talented female artistes.
Are you not bothered by the fact that
something similar crashed Mo’hits?
Oh no. I really don’t think the international
deal is what broke up Mo’hits and I don’t
really think any of us can actually talk about
that issue. This is because only the two of
them-Don Jazzy and D’banj, really know
what happened. But mine is a blessing and I
am not going to allow what happened in the
past affect me.
How did you feel when you met Jay Z?
It was an incredible feeling but when you
meet with him, you will realize that he is
human afterall. He was very chilled, very
relaxed and he made us feel comfortable. It
happened so fast that I didn’t have time to
really feel nervous. He spoke a lot about his
experience and shared a lot of wisdom.
Meeting him is such a great achievement but
the work really starts now so we can really
prove to the world that the partnership is
successful.
Regardless of all that that has happened in
your life, are you truly happy?
Of course I am very happy and I am blessed;
I have a loving family, my career is getting
stronger by the day. I recently signed an
international deal so why won’t I be happy?
Is acting something you want to explore?
Yes, I really want to explore acting. I starred
in Shuga and Jenifa’s Diary. But it has to be
the right role. I also think that acting takes a
lot of your time and it also takes a few
months out of your calendar.
What role would you want to play?
I wouldn’t want to play a role that is similar
to whom I am in real life i.e. a celebrity,
musician or whatever people perceive as
Tiwa savage. I will actually love to play the
role of a market woman.