Tiwa Savage
Biography
Tiwa Savage, born Tiwatope Savage-Balogun on February 5 1980 in Isale Eko, Lagos State, is Nigeria's most prominent female music star and a defining figure of the modern Afropop era. She moved to the United Kingdom at age eleven, where she studied business at the University of Kent, before moving to the United States to pursue a career in music, working as a backing vocalist for George Michael and appearing on The X Factor. She returned to Nigeria and signed with Mavin Records, releasing her debut album Once Upon a Time in 2013. Her debut album was a landmark, producing the massive singles Kele Kele Love, Ife Wa Gbona featuring Wizkid, and Love Me, Love Me Love. She followed with R.E.D. (2015) and subsequent EPs and albums that cemented her status as the First Lady of Afrobeats. Her signing with Jay-Z's Roc Nation management in 2016 and a deal with Universal Music Group demonstrated the global music industry's recognition of her commercial potential. Songs including Attention, All Over, and Dangerous Love became Pan-African hits. Tiwa Savage has won multiple MTV Africa Music Awards including Artist of the Year, Headies Awards, and BET Awards including Best International Act: Africa. She has collaborated with Drake, Sam Smith, Nas, and Brandy among others, and has been consistently named one of the most powerful women in African music by Forbes Africa. She was appointed Spotify's first African artist ambassador in 2021 and continues to release commercially successful music that reflects her exceptional vocal ability and global pop sensibility.
