Song Review: The Savage Kind Of Love

By 'Joba Ojelabi

As a young child growing in Lagos, there weren't really a lot of modern pop indigenous female music artistes to love. The male folk strongly dominated the industry, from the “galala” sound of the ghettos of Ajegunle to the more elitist genres of modern music, the guys were heavily present. Surely, some female artists came every now and then, but only very few managed to gain attention and even fewer; to keep it for long enough. So when the young Savage girl came with her Kele Kele love, one might not have anticipated that it would get "all over" the place.

Before Tiwa, I am quite sure I had never come across anybody called “Savage”, at least not officially. Interestingly, even now, I am yet to find another. Tiwatope Savage or Tiwa Savage, as she is more commonly called, is a name that has surely grown deep roots in the music industry over the past few years. Being her first major appearance since her nasty break up with her ex-husband, Tunji Balogun, one would expect that a track with a title like “All over” would be centered on heartbreaks and the episodes that often accompany them. Perhaps, this is where the first and major disappointment of the song might arise. In contrast to what one is tempted to think upon coming across the title of the song, the song is not for old lovers, it is for new ones. Of course, this might be an indication that our dear Tiwa has moved on from Uncle Teebillz already but then again, it might only be a throwback.

For those who were around in the early days of Iya Jamal’s homecoming, you would agree that “All Over” somehow reminds one of the old Tiwa; like a number of her early tracks, the song is simply a lady’s confession of her affection towards a potential lover. The song also resonates on a slow groovy beat, adding one more to the rapidly increasing number of hits produced by the young Mavin records producer, Mr. Babyfresh. Making one wonder if the Don is getting a heir already?

The "All Over" song does not only bear semblance to the early works of Tiwa in audio. Interestingly, its visual representation intentionally or unintentionally does too. In the video, quite similarly to the early Tiwa Savage, the first female African Pepsi Ambassador does not mind showing some skin and do some simple choreographing with her dancers and as a matter of fact she dons a jacket in the video that brings back memories, memories blurred by the devout censors of Sound City.


"All Over" is a song that is slowly gaining prominence in the airways, if it hasn’t already. It is a song that would surely catch the attention of an average millennial in no time. It’s a reminder of love; the Savage kind of love.