Celia: A Politically Sexualized Album by Mama Jam Jam

Tiwa Savage, the self-proclaimed African Bad girl is out with her fourth studio project, the second in three years, the first under label Universal music.

Tiwa knows her onion and her strategies pre the albums were on point, her deliberate call for an end to crime, the 49-99 and Koroba were calculated political ploy which threw attention to her craft, the last being her last month’s alleged invitation by the department of state service (DSS), whether they silenced her or not, she made her statement. Calling the bluff of the government. One of the few female artistes to ever do that.

This album was preceded by three singles, the sleep on “Attention, Koroba, and Sam Smith’s assisted Temptation.

Enough buzz was created for the project, it is on record that Celia was one of the most anticipated projects in the second half of the year.

Unlike Angelique Kidjo who named her Celia album after the iconic salsa singer Celia Cruz, Tiwa Savage named her after her mother.

Her mother goes by the nomenclature Cecelia Savage, on the album art. She was pictured held by her mother on a ludo plate, a game she grew up playing.

The album began with a hybrid of South Africa house music and Afrobeats. Talking about sex on the first track was sudden. Reekdo Banks was in the background, backing up for her. The intro sounded like when Mayorkun says This bread no be page. Save my life is a relieving of good sex.

The political colouration started on Ole, the Yoruba word for thieves. This track sample from Sound Sultan’s Ole. It sits on the same page with 49-99, Koroba. The choice of Naira Marley was on point. His call and response were the best I have seen in recent times. It got to a point, I found the repetition of Ole monotonous. The incident between Godwin Apakbio and the house committee was interpolated at the end of the track.

Your bum bum bigger than Bombay, you wonder how that is possible anyway, Bombay is the former name of Mumbai, the most populated city in India. Tiwa was vain on this song, on the intro, she was admiring her body, promising to injure the suppose man on the bed. Fantasizing. Burna Boy’s girlfriend Stefflon Don was excited to show her newly learned Yoruba and pidgin vocabulary. Chocolate city Dice Ailes came at the right time, adding some icing to the cake. Bombay is the continuation of Save my life with a patois vibe.

Park well-sampled Assurance beat, the same producer provided both beats (Speroach Beatz) anyway. The soulful song optimally made use of the trumpet.

Us was about Tiwa Savage’s failed marriage with Teebliz. The marriage failed due to situations beyond their control.

FWMM sounded like a diss to Tiwa Savage ex-hubby. Now she is independent, lowkey, she doesn’t need a man, now, is the right time to be expressive about it. Back up, the guitar riff did the magic on this song. The outro was good too.

Pakalamisi is another word for trouble, on this song, Tiwa Savage couldn’t hide her excitement over her man, the feeling was made in heaven, to assist her was a London based artiste “Hamzaa” who spoke some snippet of Swahili.

What an album without some bragging and words to haters? this was what Tiwa Savage did on Glory, on a surface, you might be tempted to fall for the wording, thinking it might tend towards the gospel, here, she is blowing her trumpet and going sober at the same time about the tide of life.

Sam Smith scarcely need any further introduction, here is the last single preceding the album. It was reported Fireboy DML had a hand in this songwriting, his parting can be felt at the background, can Sam Smith do any wrong?

Koroba was a political statement by Tiwa Savage, not forgetting her frown at the hypocrisy of Nigerians.

When you fall in love, you might be vulnerable, for those who have been there, Tiwa Savage was cautiously guarding her heart. On this track, her state of confusion can be felt in her tone and her lyrics. No matter how appealing she might soon, it’s a case of once bitten, twice shy.

Celia song was written by London based Moelogo and according to the artiste, it was inspired by the current Covid 19. I won’t be a surprise if wasup gospel churches tap into this song. The vocal was on point, the choral back up came at the right time too. Tiwa Savage went to white garment church while growing up, the outro featured them.

Attention was one of the songs released last year, it never flew. I wonder why it was added to the album. Attention is the craving of a woman for her man, while she wants attention, she has the option of getting it from someone else.

Producers: Pheelz, Blaq Jerzee, London, Ozedikus Rexxie, Mystro and Cracker Mallo.

While writing English language in secondary school, my then teacher Mrs. Rita Chineke would ask us to summarize a long passage, let me do that for Celia.

Celia by Tiwa Savage was a political album with some fragments of sexual innuendo.

Grade: C4