Nigerian singer and songwriter, Tiwa Savage, has said she caught the attention of executives at Jay Z’s Roc Nation because she was a female artiste.
Speaking in an interview with Premium Times, the 36-year-old said “There’s a guy called Briant “Bee-High” Biggs; he is Jay Z’s cousin. He also doubles as Roc Nation’s current director of mobile strategies. He had been visiting Nigeria for few months to scout for fresh talents in Africa. The aim was to get these artistes and Jay Z’s label into the global market. I guess Brian had been monitoring my music and my career through the years before deciding to go with me.”
On what swung the deal in her favour, she volunteered that “I guess he went with me because I am female while his other partners/remaining scouts were getting male artists. He wanted to strike a deal with a female artiste because the biggest artistes in America like Rihanna and Adele are all females. So, he really believes that there is a market for talented female artistes.”
Asked whether she was bothered by the fact that a deal D’banj signed with Kanye West’s G.O.O.D Music eventually broke up Mo’Hits, the ‘Eminado’ singer said “I am not going to allow what happened in the past affect me.”
The mother-of-one was asked about how she felt meeting Jay Z to which she answered, “It was an incredible feeling but when you meet with him, you will realise that he is human after all. He was very chilled, very relaxed and he made us feel comfortable.”
For those concerned about her state of mind and situation in her family, so said I am very happy and I am blessed; I have a loving family, my career is getting stronger by the day. I recently signed an international deal so why won’t I be happy?”
Tiwa is a member of Mavin Record founded by D’banj’s former partner, Don Jazzy, after the breakup of Mo’Hits in 2012.
