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Home · Entertainment

Tiwa Savage Delivers A Soothing Approach To Afrobeat With New Album 'Celia'

The Afrobeats trailblazer, who appeared in 'Black Is King,' declares she’s here to stay with this project.
Tiwa Savage Delivers Soothing Approach To Afrobeat With New Album
Tiwa Savage | Parkwood Entertainment + Disney Plus
By Antoinette Isama · Updated November 4, 2020

Tiwa Savage, the queen of afrobeats and Nigeria’s very own, recently dropped Celia—her first body of work to come out on Motown Records.

The 13-track project, which she titled in tribute to her mother, features border-crossing collaborations including the likes of Sam Smith, Stefflon Don, Davido, Naira Marley, Hamzaa, and more—pointing towards the effort of artists coming out of the African continent to have global appeal. As a trailblazer and one of the few women in the afrobeats scene to stay the course and make a musical impact, Savage declares that she’s here to stay with this album.

“I decided to really just go back to what I loved and what I fell in love with as a musician, which is afrobeat combined with soul and R&B,” she explains in a July interview with France 24 English.

Tiwa Savage Delivers Soothing Approach To Afrobeat With New Album

“So it’s very, very heavily influenced by that. And while I was creating the album, I actually didn’t listen to any other songs during the process of creating it because I didn’t want to be influenced by the trend of what was happening. You can expect real, hardcore R&B fused with afrobeats with this album,” Savage continued.

Take a peek at her NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) set that features a selection of jams from Celia below.

Article continues after video.

Savage also notes that her journey with Motown Records/Universal Music Group thus far has been quite the experience. “It’s been amazing,” she continues. “The journey has been different from what I’m used to, but it’s definitely a lot more structured and there’s a lot more planning; more people involved who are key players in the industry. It’s giving me a chance to compete on the global scene with artists that I look up to and I love so much and just have that opportunity to be in the same space as them.”

Leading up to Celia’s release, Savage appeared in Beyoncé’s Black Is King visual album, performing “Kings to the Kingdom” from The Lion King: The Gift album. She then teased dropping “Temptation” in collaboration with fellow pop icon Sam Smith—a track of note on the album. The duo soothes our ears with a song about forbidden love. The London-produced track is a sonic mirage—giving us a glimpse of the summer that could have been. Savage and Smith also collaborated with the songwriting of “Temptation,” with rising afrobeats singer-songwriter Fireboy DML credited as a co-writer of the song.

Celia shows us how Savage stays in the pocket of what makes listening to R&B so warm, with the complex melodies and messages that align with afrobeat music. The album is a sonic journey—taking us through falling in love, heartbreak, navigating double standards and gender dynamics in relationships, boosting one’s confidence, and even showing gratitude for the road taken thus far in her career. 

Here’s a roundup of reactions to the album we caught on social media:

African Artists are ready to dominate the world and you can here it in everybody music. Even the OGs no dey rest. Look at Tiwa serving bangers like she’s fresh out the water 🩸🔥

— angel BABy (@amaarae) August 24, 2020

It takes a lot for a woman to be successful in a male-dominated industry. @TiwaSavage has been in this game for over 10 years and has consistently given us hit back to back. I expected a PREMIUM album and guess what… SHE GAVE ME THAT! #Celia pic.twitter.com/0rytCEisoz

— iHype Tacha 🔱🔱🔱 (@Matilda93908696) August 28, 2020

Super proud of this body of work by the queen and my sis ⁦@TiwaSavage⁩. #CeliaTheAlbum is so amazing. Too many favs. 🔥🔥🔥 https://t.co/hNLnoyYyyy

— 🧞ITS DONJAZZY AGAIN🧞 (@DONJAZZY) August 31, 2020

Congratulations on the release of a fire🔥 album CELIA! Well done Sis @tiwasavage pic.twitter.com/uZifOQmpMB

— Peter Okoye MrP (@PeterPsquare) August 28, 2020

Make sure you check out that new @TiwaSavage album Im on it! Congratulations sis! 💜🔥👅

— DON (@stefflondon) August 28, 2020

Celia “ by Tiwa savage deftly infuses Afrobeats with a feminine impulse rhythmically exploring the many facets of womanhood ❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/cPpSGYpLvn

— Chioma 👑 (@_iamchiomaa) August 31, 2020

Low key, Tiwa Savage be one of the few constant ones when it comes to dropping hit songs, But we just don’t want to talk about it.

A Queen 👑 pic.twitter.com/znkf4mqIBF

— Adewale Presh #BBNaija ❼ (@sarcasm_presh) August 28, 2020

Save my Life, Bombay 🔥🔥🔥 @tiwasavage #Celia

— AG BABY (@adekunleGOLD) August 28, 2020

…been listening to @TiwaSavage’s new project and there’s no denying that Afropop/beat is such an elite genre. #CeliaTheAlbum https://t.co/ajpYUW4QWz

— Yaw Ampomah (@NYFAgh) August 29, 2020
TOPICS:  Afrobeat afrobeats Nigeria tiwa savage
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