Nigerian afrobeats queen Tiwa Savage has credited her ex-husband and former manager, Tunji Balogun, popularly known as Teebillz, as the motivation behind her transformation into a sexy diva.

Tiwa said this while featuring on the recent episode of the Afrobeats Intelligence podcast by Joey Akan.

She revealed that she was a tomboy at the start of her career, always “wearing baggy jeans and t-shirt.”

Talking about Teebillz’ influence on her appearance, she revealed that he pushed her to hit the gym and lose weight so that she could improve her appeal in an industry that was craving an increased level of sexy.

ALSO READ: Why I don’t want my son to do music – Tiwa Savage opens up

She said, “The sexiness in my 2024 single ‘Wanted’ music video felt groundbreaking at that time. Because I just got married and there’s a lot of press saying, ‘She’s not going to be desirable anymore. She’s finished. Her time is gone. There are new people on the scene.’ So, I was just like, let me do something crazy.

“That was me being rebellious. I was like, Oh! You guys think I’m not sexy anymore? To be honest, that wasn’t the aim, to just try to be sexy. Because naturally, I’m not. Naturally, I’m a tomboy. But again, TJ [Tunji Balogun] saw that there was a gap in the market and he was just like, you’ve to lose weight, you’ve to go to the gym, you’ve to start waxing your eyebrows. You’ve to start wearing wigs. He literally changed my whole appearance. I was not like that in L.A. when he met me.

“I used to be a songwriter in the studio wearing baggy jeans and a t-shirt. And he literally changed that. I don’t think that he thought there was going to be a backlash. He was just like, let’s give them the African Rihanna or Beyoncé. I was like, okay, let’s go ahead. And we came back to Nigeria, but my fashion sense attracted criticism. Then, I ran back to L.A.

“I was really bad. I would go to shows and I would be waiting backstage and they wouldn’t call me because maybe the governor’s wife had said I can’t come up or they’d say, make sure you don’t wear any of those your skimpy dresses. I’m not making this up. There was a time, ‘Love Me’ was banned on TV. I was discouraged. I remembered Bizzle called me and told me ladies were loving me, so I came back to Nigeria. I’ve told the story where I went to all the labels and they all said no, Storm Records, Mo’Hits, Banky W’s EME, everyone.”

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Tee Billz and Tiwa got married on November 23, 2013. They welcomed their son, Jamal, two years later in 2015 before officially parting ways in 2018 following allegations of infidelity and drug addiction by both parties.

ALSO READ: Tiwa Savage halts London concert after spotting her teacher in the crowd

Nigerian rapper Blaqbonez has raised the alarm that his life is being threatened by some persons he refused to name.

The rapper made the claim in a post on X while responding to a fan who expressed worry after saying he won’t spend 15 years in the music industry despite being just 29.

In addition, Blaq claimed in his post that his fans have nothing to worry about as he’d already recorded three albums to keep his legacy alive in the event of his death.

The fan with the handle @LfCPraise had written, “I no understand, no kpai o. Abeg.”

ALSO READ: Why nobody can accuse me of paternity fraud – Blaqbonez

In response, the rapper wrote, “Them say them go kill me, but I don record enough for 3 more albums, no fear, because rap actually hard for some people.”

This exchange between the rapper and the fan happened amid a raging beef between Blaq and fellow rapper Odumodublvck.

The beef escalated on Sunday, with both rappers launching direct attacks.

It all started days ago after Blaq dissed Odumodublvck in his latest song with A-Q, ‘Who’s Really Rapping.’

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The duo initially started throwing indirect shades at each other on X. Still, the situation has since escalated after Odumodublvck replied to a tweet by Blaq claiming rap is difficult for some rappers.

Odumodublvck countered Blaq, saying if rap was difficult for him, his (Blaqbonez’s) last hit wouldn’t be a collaboration with him.

He claimed that he is “everything” Blaq aims to be. He wrote, “If rap hard for me, your last hit no go dey with me. I’m everything you want to be, n*gga.

“Your spirit is weak.”

Responding, Blaq challenged Odumodublvck to go to the studio and reply to his diss track through bars and stop fighting on social media.

He wrote, “Enter studio and get TF out my mentions. This no be Twitter warfare. And stop calling the whole industry crying about me. No be so Kendrick Lamar dey do. Hip-hop legacy.”

ALSO READ: Odumodublvck calls out music executives in new rant on X

Odumodublvck responded, saying his beef with Blaq is beyond the studio, stressing that it isn’t rap beef, and adding that they would meet on the street.

He wrote, “You want to make it about studio. Na lie. We go meet again for street. You know the level. This is not a rap beef. Na me and you for this world.”

Nigerian singer Ric Hassani has opened up about the moment he decided to leave his job at a top Nigerian bank to pursue music as a career.

Speaking during an interview on the CreativiTea podcast, Hassani revealed that although he struggled to break into the music industry, he didn’t hesitate to make the switch when his big break presented itself.

On the difficulties he faced in breaking into the music industry, he explained that he was rejected mainly because his sound was different and did not align with what the industry considered commercially viable.

“When I first came to Lagos, nobody wanted to sign me because I came to Lagos with a different type of sound,” he said.

ALSO READ: Ric Hassani documents love and its many moving parts on his album ‘Lagos Lover Boy’

However, he revealed that his big break came most unexpectedly after his song was used in a proposal video posted on a popular wedding blog.

He explained that his song, and not the wedding proposal grabbed the attention of netizens with many in the comments asking whose song it was.

As a result of the buzz the song got from the video, Hassani revealed that he got an invite to perform at a show; a development that ultimately turned things around for him, music-wise.

He added that the payment he received from the show was more than his monthly salary as a bank staff, noting that this pushed him to leave his job to face the music fully.

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Hassani recounted, “Somebody was getting married on Bellanaija. So they posted the proposal video, and then my song was in the background.

“Normally, when they post a proposal video, the comments are always about the couple. But this time, everybody was like, ‘What song is that?’

“So they called me for a show, and this was more than my salary. So I left Access Bank. I said, I’m not doing it again.”

Since his breakout, Hassani has cemented himself as one of Nigeria’s best vocalists, with his talent earning him numerous awards and nominations.

ALSO READ: Ric Hassani releases thrilling single ‘Moving Train’ ahead of upcoming album

He was nominated in three categories at the 2016 All Africa Music Awards. He received two nominations at the 2016 Headies Awards, including Best Alternative Song for his track ‘Gentleman.’