Would you say you are lucky? When I say lucky, I mean in the context that you have been in the music industry for 2 years and growing bigger . There are few female artistes that have succeeded in the music sector…
I don’t really like to attribute things to luck. I would rather say that I’m blessed. I’m not the only person with musical talent or gift. For some reason I feel like God chose me. I feel blessed and also I can’t discredit the fact that I work very hard and I have a team of people who work really hard. The stress, the sleepless nights and all. We study other brands, we look at Brandy, Beyonce, Chaka Khan and different people. We go through their history and we see what worked and what didn’t work for them. We also think about our culture. Certain things might work and might not work in our culture. It’s a balance of all these things that I would say has brought me this far. Sometimes I am shocked myself because moving back to Nigeria was just to test the waters and for me to still be here and in this place I am blessed.
Would you go back to the UK?
I actually went back. When I went back I saw the reaction of people. The song received massive airplay. On the radio, TV and in the streets. I just knew that God had paved the way and I was just basically walking in the destiny He created.
And no album yet?
No album till now.
That’s shocking because you have made a sizable amount of money. Haven’t you ?
We thank God we are making a little to get us by. Finally the album is here and I’m very proud of it. It exceeded my expectations and I’m glad we waited because my mum always said ‘God’s time is the best’. Everybody wondered when the album was coming out, but there are some things you can’t rush. Besides, we don’t live in a society where it’s an album market. The singles sell more but your album has to speak of you as a person and that’s why I took my time in producing the album. I wanted to show my different sides musically. I wanted people generally to be able to accept my music and still be very musical in what I did.
What’s the title?
The title of the album is Once Upon A Time.
Why?
It’s the way you start a story. When I was a kid, the story teller would say ‘once upon a time’ and then we would reply ‘time time’. Basically it’s a story, like you
said many artistes have come in the industry and they have gone. I feel like my story deserves a voice and it can encourage other people. Budding artistes can hear my story and be encouraged. Old artistes that have come and tried and didn’t succeed can still see my story as a motivation. So it’s basically a story of motivation for artistes especially the female artistes like you rightly said. That’s why it’s called Once Upon A Time , because it’s a story.
When are you releasing the album?
Later this month by God’s grace. We are still walking back and forth with the marketers to see exactly when, because a lot of albums are dropping this month.
What are the tracks we should be expecting on the album?
A few of the tracks you already know. Kele Kele, Without my Heart and Love Me . I have a track called Esim Afia and it’s a track I really love. There’s another called Wanted which is a fusion of Reggae, Hip Hop and Afro and I also have a lot of slow songs because other people keep on saying ‘Tiwa we know you as a singer and you have been doing all this ‘Lamba’ songs” . I also have a song called Middle Passage and a song called Get Low which is a ballad . I also have a Baje song called Ileke.
So we should expect a lot of party tunes ?
Yes definitely. Like I said, I had to satisfy the market and that’s what we like to do in Nigeria, we like to party.
Did you write all the songs?
Yes, I did. For some of the songs I had co-writers. Don Jazzy, my producer, an amazing song writer co-wrote some of the songs, some other songs my manager, Tunji Balogun co-wrote. So, I worked on every single song on the album.
Did you feature any artistes?
Yes, I did. I had Flavour on one of the songs, General Pype. Obviously Don Jazzy and a couple of other artistes.
Why did you go for Mavin, a lot of us thought you were going to stay with cecil?
At a time Cecil (Hammond) was more into events like Rhythm Unplugged and all the other stuff and I have been very close to the Mavins, Dr Sid, Wande Coal, D’prince and Don Jazzy, so when the Mavin concept came up with a void that needed a female voice to fill, it only made sense to make the transition into Mavin Records. I’m still very close to Flytime Entertainment. We still work with them. No bad blood at all.
Some artistes feel the need to put up the façade that they are single to make themselves more sellable even when they are married. You’re one of the few that made your relationship known to the public. What influenced that decision or are you not scared that the decision to go public might affect your market?
In all honesty we’d actually kept our relationship quite private. The only time we became officially known to the public was at the proposal. Obviously it wasn’t something I planned and I don’t think he planned to video it. We didn’t really plan to come out in the open but everything happens for a reason. It’s not something we planned to hide forever and I don’t think it should affect the market. Being female it’s something we all look forward to. You know getting married and having someone special in your life and I’m blessed that I have someone like that. I don’t think it’s going to affect the market in any way. I look up to people like Beyonce who is happily married and has a child. She’s still seen as a sex symbol and she’s still very appealing to the general public, so it’s not something that I’m scared of. If anything, I wanted to try getting married. If you have a relationship and want to keep it private for personal reasons you should but don’t be scared that the public would look at you differently, because that’s the way of life.
Why did you choose him?
It’s funny, because we used to ask each other, ‘why did you fall in love with me?’ But I don’t think there’s really a ‘why me’. It just happened and I think when you truly love someone you can’t say I love him because of this, because if you say that and another thing happens the love vanishes. For instance if you say I love him because he has money and the person becomes broke, you stop loving the person. I can’t really say why, I just know that my heart chose him and his heart chose me. We were friends first of all and we worked together , so we were always with each other. I got to know him in his natural element, he got to know the real me behind all the weave, the makeup and the glamour and he got to love who I was.
You were romantically involved with Don Jazzy and Cecil Hammond. Did anything really happen with those two?
No, not at all. I won’t say I don’t know why people would think that because it’s expected in our industry. Nothing happened and I was really sad when I heard about Cecil , because I was really close to his wife and he is a great family man. A man who loves his wife and children and that really broke my heart that people will actually come up with stuff like that. There’s actually no truth in it, none at all.
Are you happy?
Absolutely, I’m so over the moon. Sometimes I get too happy and I’m like ‘Oh my God something bad is about to happen’. Like my life can’t be this good. How can I not be happy? I’m living my dream, I’m with a man I love, my parents are alive and healthy, supporting me, so also my brothers. I have great friends around me and above everything I have the love of God, I have His protection, His love and support. To say I’m happy is an understatement.
Is this what you have always wanted to be?
At a stage I didn’t really think I wanted to be anywhere. I just remember being very playful and joyful and a trouble maker. When I was younger, I was a tomboy but when I discovered my gift of song, I knew that definitely I wanted to be an artiste. I wanted to use songs to change people’s lives, because when I go through different emotions I used music to heal myself. I wanted to use that as a gift to other people, so yes in a way, this is what I’ve always wanted to do.
When did you discover your talent, because discovery can take a life time? For some it happens early and for some others it doesn’t happen until they are in their 50S?
Mine happened when I was in secondary school. I’ve told this story before. I used to have a crush on a boy and he used to hang out with all the dancers and singers in school, so I figured to get his attention I’d have to join the music club. So, I went to meet the teacher and he asked if I had any talent in music. I sang something for him and he was pleasantly surprised and told me I had a beautiful voice and I could work on it. Basically that was how it started. I started mimicking Whitney Houston, Gladys Knight and people like that, so I found my talent trying to get a boy’s attention.
Did you get his attention?
No, I still didn’t get his attention. Fortunately for me, I saw him a few years back when I visited London and he looked absolutely nothing like what I remembered. He was chubby and had dread locks. Not that I had anything against dreads but he wasn’t the same boy I had a crush on.
So it was a lucky escape?
Yeah it was.
Have you ever had your fingers burned in the game of love and what was it like if you have?
Of course . When I wrote songs like Kele Kele and other songs in my album that talk about heart break, that’s what’s all about. I think it’s a way of life and it doesn’t just happen to women alone but men as well. How would you know a Mr. Right when you have never had a Mr. Wrong? You have to go through a couple of Mr. Wrongs to know when Mr. Right comes along. I also think it’s healthy to go through a heart break so you appreciate Mr Right when he comes. I said it before, it’s just a way of life. People break your heart not just in relationships but in business, family and so on. I’ve had my heart broken a few times.
Who broke your heart?
I can’t mention any particular name but like I said, Kele Kele was based on that kind of experience. A guy that I was really into. When you’re really into someone you don’t really see it. The guy only called me at night when nobody was there, when he was bored and stuff like that. My friends kept telling me that he wasn’t into me and I didn’t believe them until I found out that he was into somebody else and my heart was really broken. That was what inspired the song and I didn’t want it to be a sad song which is why I called it Kele Kele. You can still dance to it.
You said you won’t know Mr. Right if you have never had Mr. Wrong. How are you sure he is the right one?
In life, you just have to push everything to God. You just have to pray. When you make a decision and your heart is at peace, a peace that surpasses all understanding you know that God is in the midst of that decision. We were not looking for it at that time. It just happened and that’s how I knew there was something supernatural about it. As much as we may go through our ups and downs, we might have arguments at the end of the day, you have to listen to your heart and you also have to listen to God and it’s something that I have prayed about a lot. My family prayed about it a lot for me too and I also had peace in the decision that we have made, so I’m happy with that.
So you pray?
Of course I have to pray. There is no way you can survive in this industry without having someone or something you pray to, but I choose to pray to God.
Celebrity couples always have issues that are made public. Were you not scared when some things started showing up online?
Fear is not of God, so I can’t be in a relationship and be fearful. If I have chosen to be in a relationship I have to enjoy every moment of it. The mistake a lot of people make is when they’re fearful. You won’t enjoy your time together because of the fear that it might not work. The fear of what people say tend to make you give in to external influences so I try to keep that to a minimum and I try to focus on my relationship with him. Like I said, I always put God first in everything I do.
…And you are not backing out of the relationship?
There wasn’t anything that was revealed that I didn’t know already, I went in with my eyes completely wide open.
What are your expectations for the album?
I’m so excited about it. I try to be humble in the sense that I have put in a lot of work into it musically. I think people are going to be very impressed especially coming from a female artiste. I’m very glad, because I can’t take credit for it. It’s God’s hands on me. Anything God is involved in is always a win-win situation.
Is it true that you are going to be a Glo ambassador?
I heard that and it’s something that my management handled. I never had any deal with them. They have always been family. We have run many shows with them. Unfortunately, it’s not something that we followed-through with them.
How good was the Pepsi deal?
The Pepsi deal was really good. It opened a lot of doors for myself and Wizkid and we are still part of it, we are in it for a few years and it is a great thing.
How many producers worked with you on your album?
About five including Don Jazzy, Oak, Gospel and Harmony.
Will you ever do a gospel album?
Of course definitely, I know people might be shocked about that, but I have a few songs on the album that lean towards that direction. I have a particular song that is very inspirational. I will definitely love to, I think that will come anytime as well.
What was growing up like? Tell me about your siblings and parents?
Growing up was fun. I was a tomboy, the only girl and the last child. I had three elder brothers and there was a big gap. They were more like guardians. I was very playful and kind of a talkative. I was very protected as well but my parents allowed me to follow my dreams . They did tell me that if I want to do music I had to get a degree, so I got a degree in Business and Accounts from the University of Kent. but after that they allowed me to follow my dream. I had a very healthy upbringing.
How many artistes have you worked with internationally and do you still work with them?
Yes, I wrote a song that just came out on Fantasia’s new album called Supernatural Love and I also wrote a song for Chrisette Michelle. She’s signed to Def Jam and I also wrote a song for Monica. I have written for a lot of people like Babyface and Kenny Latimore. The last song I wrote for Fantasia was nominated but it didn’t win.
When are you getting married?
We are focusing on the album first. I don’t want a long engagement although, we have not really sat down to talk about the wedding.
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