Tiwa Savage and her tale of ‘49-99’

If you were at the popular Obalande Bridge in Lagos recently, you would be amazed by the superlative show, which Tiwa Savage, the pop diva, staged for hours without watching her back. She was truly in her element and also sent hundreds of her fans into frenzy on the streets of Lagos with her acts.

It was thrilling and a unique way of identifying with her fans and also wining more fans. The pop diva chose to the bridge, which many descent people would consider unsafe, as the venue for the premiere of latest single entitled 49-99.

The title which is a story on its own, gave the artiste the opportunity to express herself on issues that bother people amid other societal ills.

The song reveals a case study of a transit bus service which ought to serve 49 persons but due to the poor economic condition is often made to carry twice the number with so many persons standing.

Wearing her diva attitude like a costume, the singer waltzed out of a Lagos BRT Bus parked behind the stage singing to the blast of her single, ‘All Over.’ Her grand entrance made the crowd go gaga. Numbering hundreds, the ecstatic crowd suspended the day’s activity and trooped out to the out-door space. Others craned their necks from the twin over-head bridge to catch a piece of the action.

Much to the satisfaction of the crowd who kept asking for more, she went on to perform other singles such as her collabo song with Reekardo Banks, ‘Ello Baby,’ ‘Ma Lo,’ and ‘Diet’ among others.

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To underscore the importance of the event, Tiwa Savage revealed, “As an artiste, I cannot shy away from the people. It was very important to me to connect with them and let them know how important they are to my growth as an artiste.”

Speaking on the rationale for titling the single ‘49-99,’ Savage traced it to an old Fela song about suffering and smiling, 49 people sitting and 99 standing in the popular “Molue” commuting bus.

“The song encourages the young to put down the sense of inheritance and work for what they desire in life, for a better tomorrow. We can’t sit on our old glories and expect things to change for the better.

“‘49-99’ also addresses some political leaders who, instead of focusing on the growth of a nation, are there just for the money and having affairs with underage girls – while the citizenry is hustling hard to make a daily living”, she said.

Earlier, Tiwa Savage had joined executives of Ikoyi/ Obalende Local Council Development Area ( LCDA) including Fuad Atanda-lawal, the chairman, next-door at an empowerment event to present financial donations to over 600 beneficiaries mainly market men and women.

The single is powered by Boomplay, foremost African music streaming platform and Universal Music Group.

The premiere was the Lagos leg of the global release of her first single, which premiered earlier in London and New York. It comes few months after she signed a major exclusive international recording deal with Universal Music Group.

According to Tosin Sorinola, head of marketing, Boomplay, “Getting behind Tiwa Savage for this event was a no-brainer as she’s one of the most celebrated female acts in Africa while Boomplay is also the #1 music streaming platform in Africa; thus, a win-win connection for both parties.”

“As a platform with over 54 million users globally and 7 million tracks, which is expected to grow to 12 million by the end of 2019, we believe that we are in the position to partner with as many artistes as possible in order to encourage creatives and gradually build a buying culture among the music community in general,’ Sorinola added.