Wizkid, Tiwa Savage: Singles aren’t enough, these two stars should provide us with a bigger project

Wizzy and Tiwa need to explore and stretch their chemistry and pick out all the good songs on their spectrum of collaborations for us.

Tiwa Savage and Wizkid!

These two people have the potential to be more than they are. Like bread and Akara, or Pap and Beans, or Coke and Agege bread, they complement each other when they hit the studio and release music. Each time (or rather, twice) they have stepped out, they have made enough quality to inspire the taste for more.

In many ways, Tiwa and Wizkid are artistically alike, They both possess an insane drive to record their best selves and put an artistic foot forward that isn’t lacking in quality. When Wizkid or Tiwa Savage releases new music, everyone gravitates towards it for the most obvious reason: quality.

Wizkid is a raging bull. The man records like a juggernaut, crashing into studios and lacing everything and anything with vocals. A week after he released his tasking RCA debut in July, “Sounds From The Other Side,” the singer arrived in Lagos, spending two days recording enough music for two albums. One of his greatest strengths is his understanding of life’s basic rule: If you shoot enough shots, you are bound to get a hit.

 

Tiwa Savage, on the other hand, obeys this rule too. The singer enthusiastically seeks out new sounds and format. Her EP “Sugarcane,” which was critically satisfying was simply a product of her ‘feeling too good’ about being in the studio and recording romantically charged music. "I have been in such a great space in the studio and I've been creating so much music so it felt right to put out this project. The title is Sugar cane because the music sounded different and sweet to me. With Afrobeat music, I can't explain it in words you just have to listen and experience the magic,” she told FADER.

When these two come together there’s bound to be magic. On Tiwa Savage’s “R.E.D” album, she rang up Wizkid for the number ‘Bad’. The single took forever to complete because of Wizkid’s hectic schedule during her pregnancy. On the day she premiered the album in Lagos, the single was missing. It had just arrived in the mail that morning, and so could only make a future extended release.

But it was a great song, just like its predecessor, ‘Ma lo’. The second single off “Sugarcane” EP, the record carries a distinct take by producer Spellz, who provided an iteration of the trendy ‘Pon Pon’ beat for the collaboration.

 

From these two singles, one thing that becomes clear is that the duo prefer to work with the tempo reduced. That’s the sweet spot on which they can both find the plane for melodic harmony and expression. Once they hit that level, there’s only genius lurking in the corner, and waiting to be unleashed as music.

And based on the evidence of these two releases, there’s a sense that these two can do something more. They can create more than just singles. These solo songs are fine, they quench a thirst that we never knew we had. But yes, you don’t hand candy to a kid once in a year for two years. At some point, you have to find a bag of it, keep it in the house for that kid to withdraw, and move on. We want our bag of sweets. We have tasted the good stuff, and we want more. Oliver Twist more!

That’s why they should meet again with the possibility of recording an EP, or a joint album. It would take a lot of work in the studio, and legal paperwork to get all parties involve to sign off on it. But if Tiwa and Wizzy insist, all the forces around them would align to make it a reality.

These two need to give us something. They need to explore and stretch their chemistry and pick out all the good songs on their spectrum of collaborations for us. They have earned that level of desire.