I wasn’t always like this – Tiwa Savage opens up about industry pressures to change her image

Tiwa Savage has shared a rare behind-the-scenes account of her transformation from a laid-back, tomboyish artist to the glamorous Afrobeats sensation the world knows today.

In a candid conversation on the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast with Joey Akan, Tiwa opened up about the significant changes she underwent under the guidance of her former label head, Tunji “TJ” Balogun, and how those changes shaped her public persona.

“Naturally, I’m not [sexy]. Naturally, I’m a tomboy,” she admitted.

“But again, TJ 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.”

According to Tiwa, she was far from the glam queen many now associate with her name when she first met TJ in Los Angeles.

“I was not like that in L.A. when he met me,” she revealed.

Her now-infamous 2014 Wanted music video, which drew both praise and criticism for its provocative visuals, was part of that reinvention—but Tiwa says the intention wasn’t to be sexy for the sake of it.

“To be honest, that wasn’t the aim—to just try to be sexy,” she said.

Instead, it was a response to the growing perception that she was no longer marketable after getting married.