By Fasuyi Tolulope Samuel
Nigerian Afrobeats sensation Tiwa Savage has revealed she wouldn’t encourage her son, Jamal, to follow her path into the music industry.
Speaking during an exclusive interview on Afrobeats Intelligence with Joey Akan, the award-winning singer opened up about the pressures of motherhood, maintaining a music career, and why she believes the industry may not be the best place for her son.
“The rate of success is very slim,” Tiwa said. “Not only that, if you’re blessed to [have hits], your life span, it 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.”
She expressed concerns about the immense pressure musicians face, both financially and emotionally, even after achieving commercial success. According to Tiwa, the facade of fame often masks the real struggles many artists endure behind the scenes.
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Reflecting on the challenges of balancing work and family life, Tiwa recounted how the COVID-19 lockdown brought her closer to her music — but at a personal cost.
“During lockdown, I had a studio (at home) and I was actually trying to learn how to record myself and then I realised that I was always there. 2 a.m. in the morning, and sometimes I’m not even recording, I’m just listening to music, watching something,” she said.
“Initially I was not spending time with my son especially, and it wasn’t good for me ‘cos I couldn’t separate work from home ‘cos 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.”
Tiwa also touched on the early days of her career when people branded her the “African Rihanna” and expressed doubts about her unique blend of R&B and Afrobeats.
“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 recalled.
Despite her massive success, Tiwa’s revelations shed light on the hidden cost of stardom and why she’s hesitant about her son joining the music industry.
