“I Was A Tomboy Until My Ex-Husband Rebranded Me”

Tiwa Savage discussed her transformation from a tomboy to a prominent sex symbol in Afrobeats.

She appeared on the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast with Joey Akan to share her experiences.

Savage revealed that her early image was not glamorous; she often wore oversized, baggy clothes.

Nigerian music sensation Tiwa Savage has opened up about her journey from being a tomboy to becoming one of Afrobeats’ most iconic sex symbols.

Speaking during a recent episode of the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast with Joey Akan, the award-winning singer shared that her image wasn’t always glamorous. According to her, she used to dress in oversized, baggy clothes while working as a songwriter abroad.

Savage credited her former manager and ex-husband, Tunji Balogun, popularly known as Teebillz, for the shift in her public persona. She explained that after returning to Nigeria to pursue a solo career, Teebillz played a significant role in reshaping her image and brand into what fans now recognize as her signature style.

She said, “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.”