Tiwa Savage pushes back against criticism over female collaborations

Nigerian Afrobeats singer Tiwa Savage has addressed accusations that she does not collaborate enough with female musicians, asserting that her discography disproves this claim. During an interview on the OffAir podcast, she revealed that she has worked with numerous female artists, but their songs have not been promoted as effectively as her collaborations with male artists.

"People say I don’t feature female artistes, which is also a lie, because check the female artists in Nigeria. I’ve done the most features with other females; I have featured more female artistes than other female artistes," Tiwa stated. She cited collaborations with notable female musicians such as Waje, Simi, Efya, Becca, and Ayra Starr as proof of her commitment to working with women.

However, she questioned why some of these female collaborations did not garner more industry support. "I have a song with Simi, a song with Efya, a song with Becca, I have a song with Ayra. The list goes on. Like, where are those songs?" she asked, suggesting that the minimal promotion of these female collaborations has contributed to the misconception that she doesn't support women in music.

Tiwa emphasized that the limited visibility of some of her female collaborations has been disheartening for female artists, especially in an industry where women already encounter difficulties gaining opportunities and maintaining visibility. She also questioned whether those criticizing her had taken any steps to promote the records, arguing that collaboration alone is not enough if the music is not subsequently backed.

"When I dropped those songs, where were the gatekeepers? Why didn’t they promote the songs?" she inquired. The Grammy-nominated artist also discussed her efforts to prevent the tendency to pit successful female artists against each other. She recounted her decision to invite Yemi Alade to perform at her concert, responding to the growing comparison between the two singers.

"When I did my concert, I pulled out Yemi Alade, because I saw that that comparison was starting to build. I called her and said sis, please come out to my show and lets do this," she recalled. Tiwa adopted a similar approach with Ayra Starr, whom she affectionately regards as someone she wants to see thrive. Tiwa's remarks come as ongoing discussions persist about the treatment of women in the African music industry, particularly the habit of framing successful female artists as rivals instead of collaborators.