Award-winning Nigerian artist Tiwa Savage recently gave a candid interview on Afrobeats Intelligence, hosted by Joey Akan, opening up about the delicate balance between being a mom and navigating her demanding music career.
Savage candidly discussed the ongoing challenge of balancing her professional life with her family responsibilities, particularly during the COVID-19 lockdown. She explained how having a home studio during that period blurred the lines, making it incredibly tough to switch off from work.
She confessed that this setup often pulled her into late-night sessions, inadvertently stealing away precious moments with her son.
“During lockdown, I had a studio (at home), and I was actually trying to learn how to record myself, and then I realized that I was always there. 2 a.m. in the morning, and sometimes I’m not even recording; I’m just listening to music or watching something. Initially, I was not spending time with my son, especially, and it wasn’t good for me because I couldn’t separate work from home because work was in my home. And I didn’t like that; I wanted to be able to leave work and come home. I wanted to be able to separate work from home, especially for my son.”
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When the conversation then shifted to her son’s potential interest in music, Savage’s stance was clear: she’d prefer he didn’t follow in her footsteps. She pointed to the music industry’s intense pressures and its often-slim success rates, voicing deep concerns about the mental and financial toll artists frequently face.
“I said this one time that I can’t sign an artist, and I got a lot of backlash. My heart can’t take it. It’s hard. The rate of success is very slim; not only that, if you’re blessed to [have hits], your lifespan might not be 10 years. It might not even be five years, so it’s even harder to sustain a career and to be lucrative. Mentally, as well, imagine being an artist and you’re not really making as much as people think you are, but you have to live like you are.”
Savage also looked back at her early career struggles, recalling the pressure to fit into predetermined roles. She shared how she was often branded the “African Rihanna,” a label she found restrictive.
She also reminisced about facing skepticism from various labels when trying to blend R&B with Afrobeats, as many doubted the commercial viability of such a fusion at the time.
“Everyone was like, ‘You’re a great singer, you look amazing.'” It was more like, Let’s think about it, but I never got the call back, “she revealed.
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