Nigerian artist Tiwa Savage has detailed external pressures to alter her appearance early in her music career.
Speaking on the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast, Savage stated she underwent significant changes under former label head Tunji “TJ” Balogun’s direction.
“Naturally, I’m a tomboy,” she told host Joey Akan. “TJ saw a market gap. He said: ‘You’ve to lose weight, go to the gym, wax eyebrows, wear wigs.’ He literally changed my whole appearance.”
Savage confirmed her current glamorous persona contrasts with her original identity: “I was not like that in L.A. when he met me.” She addressed her 2014 “Wanted” video, noting: “That wasn’t the aim—to just try to be sexy.” According to Savage, the visual reinvention responded to industry concerns about marketability following her marriage.
This account surfaces amid ongoing discussions about artistic autonomy in Afrobeats, where female artists frequently navigate commercial expectations versus personal expression within the continent’s fast-growing music industry.
