By Nehru Odeh
Some call her Mama Jam Jam, others call her Queen of Afrobeats. Still many call her Africa’s bad girl. But whatever you choose to call her, Tiwa Savage is owning her narrative and living up to her name, Savage. And she is indeed savage. Savage, in the language of the street (as slang), means one who doesn’t care about the consequences of her actions or one who takes hard decisions).
Of course, Savage has taken not a few hard decisions, and a few hard knocks too. Many believe she is wild and crazy. Many believe she is sassy. Many believe she doesn’t give a damn. Many believe she is brazen. Many believe controversy is her forte, still. And she sure knows how to astonish her fans.
Welcome to the real Savage, to the real Mama Jam Jam. And of course, she has jammed our sensibilities many a time. And continues to do so. Still, the reasons she is savage are legion. She got married to Tunji “Tee Billz” Balogun in 2013 but three years after, that union crashed over allegations of infidelity.
When that celebrity marriage went awry and Tee Billz accused her of infidelity and her mother of witchcraft, Savage called his bluff and confessed in an interview that the marriage was over. And that indeed tolled the knell of the union. That was Savage for you.
Last year, while making preparations to release her album, Celia, in the heat of the pandemic, she told the BBC that she might have to go butt naked in a video. “I might just have to go butt naked in my next video because I don’t know what else I’m going to have to do to top that one!,” Savage said.
And indeed she made good her promise (or is it threat?) when she released the video of Dangerous Love. She literally set the internet on fire as she almost completely went nude in that video. That was Savage for you.
In 2019, Tiwa left Don Jazzy’s Mavin Records and joined the Universal Music Group (UMG), a US music company that boasts of artistes like Rihanna, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga. And yet she was quoted as saying she was still part of Marvin Records. That was Savage for you.
Last year, she stirred the hornet’s nest and elicited wild reactions when she went almost completely nude in some photos she herself posted on Instagram. Still, that was Savage for you.
Now, Savage, who is wedded to controversy, is entangled with another one. Her sex video which she said was leaked by her blackmailers on Monday 18 October has set social media agog, eliciting reactions for and against her. That short video, which On-Air Personality Daddy Freeze refers to as 10 powerful seconds, shows Savage in cloud seven while in the act of lovemaking. Can I hear you say that was Savage for you?
Recall that the actress, who shot to limelight when she released her debut album, Once Upon a Time, in 2013 and famous for songs such as Kelekele Love and Eminado, had revealed in an interview with American OAP, Angie Martinez of New York’s Power 105.1 FM that she was being blackmailed over a sex tape with her current lover.
“It is not from someone working closely with me. What happened is that the person did it on snap and he posted it by accident but he quickly deleted it, however, someone got it before he could delete it. It is a very short video but it is me. It is going to be out there and I can just imagine the memes. I just found out yesterday. I could not sleep last night,” Tiwa confessed in that interview.
However, Savage putting on a bold face characteristic of her, said she wasn’t going to accede to the blackmailer’s demand for doing something “natural”, “I decided I was not going to pay the person because if I do, two months from now, three months down the line or even two years later, you are going to come back again.
“Who knows, if I send the money, the person will probably release it. I am not going to let anyone blackmail me for doing something natural.
“No part of me wants to pay the person. That is what is getting me angry. If you want to put it out, put it out. I am that crazy that I can put it out myself. You are not making any money from me. This was an intimate moment with someone I am dating,” she said, talking tough while referring to her craziness. She asked her fans to disregard the video when it is leaked. That was Savage for you.
The singer also said she tried to manage the situation to no avail. She said:”We tried to stall them, but I later decided that I am going to own the narrative. I am not ashamed of it; this is someone I am dating; I am not cheating, neither is he. We are grownups.
”I cannot believe this is happening to me. I feel for my fans because they will have to keep defending me. I can switch off my phone or have someone run my account so I do not see that, but my fans will feel the need to protect me. I will like my fans to ignore it.”
However, while performing at the just concluded Felabration, Savage mocked those waiting to see the video, telling them in Pidgin English that they won’t see the video. “Una no go see the thing, “she enthused.
Still, the blackmailer make good of his threat and released the video on the night of Monday 18, 2021. No sooner had the lewd video been released than it set the internet agog. While she received a backlash, others, notably in the entertainment industry, rallied around her.
Reacting to the leaked video, Savage said: “You hated how I was able to control the narrative and get ahead of a story before it consumed me and how I was able to joke on stage about something you thought will destroy me and make me ashamed.”
The questions now are: Has Savage been able to control the narrative? Has she been able to hold her own in spite of the backlash? Many believe she has not, that the narrative has slipped off her hands. While some has been baying for her blood, saying she shouldn’t have dabbled in such a satanic enterprise in the first place, others have come to her defence.
Still, there is another narrative that says the delectable actress released the video herself to promote her newly released duet with American R&B singer, Brandy in the United States. While another school of thought are convinced that Savage is only pulling a stunt to gain popularity, that the said video is not hers because it had been released two years ago.
Savage herself has owned up, even though she doesn’t at the moment own the narrative. She has said she is the lady captured in the viral sex video. “I am not going to call it a sex tape but it’s a tape between me and the person I am dating right now…” she said.
However, there are questions begging for answers: Why did the boyfriend “mistakenly” upload the sex video on Snapchat? Why is it it is only her face that is showing in the video, and not that of the lover if the act was really consensual and devoid of evil intentions? Why is it that the boyfriend who said he was more concerned about Savage’s reputation hasn’t come out in her lover’s defence, even though disguised?
No matter the colour of the conspiracy theory, no matter the shape, the fact remains that Savage is not just facing trial, she is on trial in the people’s court. And the outcome of that trial depends on how she is able to manoeuvre herself out of the backlash and worm her way to the hearts of her teeming fans. And of course, she sure knows how to astonish her fans and also to worm her way into their hearts.
What Savage is currently going through may either tame her or release the savage in her the more. It may either break her or unleash the dragon in her. But she is already showing signs of giving in. Her recent cryptic post on Instagram says so. “I was sad at the passing of my dad and 44 but at least they are no longer in this cruel place. Some people will be happy when I am no more.” she wrote.
Others such as popular Ghanaian songstress Belinda Nana Akua Amoako better known as Mzbel and rapper Speed Darlington believe Savage released the video herself to promote her music and stay relevant. Mzbel opined that the singer sacrificed her body to make her album with American artist Brandy trend on social media.
Still, many celebrities have rallied around Savage. Nollywood Actor, Yul Edochie, commended Savage for her courage and strength over the controversies involving her sex video, saying she is an inspiration. “I commend you @tiwasavage for the way you handled the issue. You may not know this but you’ve inspired so many other people who may be going through blackmail silently. You said capital NO to blackmail and it takes a lot of strength to do so. It is well. You’re a human being, like the rest of us.” He further urged the singer to stay stronger, adding that ‘Nobody holy Pass’.
No matter what happens, the fact remains that Savage may never be the same again. She is already feeling the heat. She is already reacting to the backlash. Still, Savage is an adult, as many claim and has her rights and responsibilities.
It is only Savage that can decide what road to take. But one thing is certain, she will never be the same. She will either backpedal or unleash her demons the more. There is no middle ground here, no sitting on the fence.
It has been reported that she has allegedly lost four major endorsement deals from Cadbury, a beverage company, Pampers, a diaper company, Glo a network service and one other over her leaked $ex tape.
Google has just announced the emergence of the sex video as among the top trending searches on Google in October. This indeed is not coming as a surprise, as the artiste is going to trend for a very long time
Still, the question is: Will the loss of endorsement deals, the leaked sex video and the backlash from the public rein Savage? Whether they will remains to be seen. But the fact remains that our own Savage may never be the same again.
*Odeh, a Media Consultant writes from Lagos.
