As African music continues to shape global sound and conversation, attention is turning toward the systems that sustain it, from education to access to the structures that allow talent to grow beyond a single moment. With the launch of the Berklee in Lagos four-day music intensive programme through the Tiwa Savage Music Foundation, Tiwa Savage is placing her focus on building those systems at home. We had the opportunity to speak with her about the thinking behind the initiative, what informed it, how it will work in practice, and what it means to invest in the next generation of African artists from within the continent.
As a Berklee alumna, what part of your experience there made you feel Nigerian artists deserved access to that same level of structured training at home?
Tiwa Savage: My time at Berklee showed me the power of the Berklee teaching methodology in shaping a professional career. I realized that the Berklee professional musicianship experience which integrates performance, theory, and business is a global standard that should be accessible within our own vibrant and influential African music environment. By bringing this training to Lagos, we allow emerging artists to advance their skills without needing to leave the continent.
How does this program covering performance, songwriting, production, and music business directly address the professional development gaps facing emerging Nigerian and West African artists today?
Tiwa Savage: Let me give you a number that puts this in perspective. Tuition at a leading international music institution can exceed forty thousand to sixty thousand dollars per year, and that does not include living expenses. Now consider that the median age in Nigeria is approximately eighteen years old. We have one of the youngest populations on the planet, brimming with creative energy, and the financial barrier to accessing elite music training is enormous.
That is the gap we are addressing. The Berklee in Nigeria program is fully funded. There is no tuition cost for accepted students. We are removing the financial barrier entirely and saying that if you have the talent and the drive, you deserve to be in that room. One hundred students will be selected from across Africa for this four day intensive. They will be taught by Berklee professors, given direct access to industry leaders, and mentored throughout. It runs from April twenty third to April twenty sixth, twenty twenty six, right here in Lagos.
You have consistently emphasized building Africa’s music infrastructure rather than chasing foreign validation. How does this program strengthen local capacity while positioning artists to compete globally from within the continent?
Tiwa Savage: When I was at Berklee, one of the most powerful things I learned was the methodology, the way you think about music, how you dissect it, and how you apply this theory. It is transferable across any genre, any culture, any tradition. The framework does not erase our roots. It deepens them.
What we are doing in Lagos is not importing an American curriculum and dropping it into Nigeria. We are using Berklee’s methodology as the foundation and building on top of the rhythmic complexity of Afrobeats, the storytelling traditions of West African music, and the way our producers layer sound in a way that is uniquely ours. Berklee professors are coming here. They will be in the room with young Nigerian creatives. We are giving them the tools to understand why our music moves the world and how to take it even further.
When reviewing short audition clips, what qualities do you instinctively look for beyond talent?
Tiwa Savage: Beyond basic talent, the application requires a two to three minute video that specifically demonstrates performance skills and musicianship recorded within the last six months. I look for readiness and potential for growth, artists who have at least one year of experience on their instrument and are clearly seeking to advance their musical knowledge to a professional level. What we are looking for is the thing you cannot fake, genuine talent and drive.
The program culminates in ensembles and a showcase. How will this final stage create real pathways into Nigeria’s Afrobeats ecosystem beyond just performance experience?
Tiwa Savage: Every participant performs in a final showcase that is not just a nice closing ceremony. It is your first real professional experience and a piece of evidence of what you can do. For standout participants, it does not end there. Select students will receive tailored guidance on advancing through Berklee’s in person and online programmes. Scholarship awards will also be presented to recognise exceptional talent and open doors to further training.
The goal is that a young creative who goes through this programme in April twenty twenty six can still draw on the Foundation’s resources, community, and partnerships in the future and beyond. We are not here to give people a four day spark and then disappear. We are here to build something that lasts for the students and for the ecosystem they become part of.
How does partnering with structured programs like this redefine what legacy means for you?
Tiwa Savage: When I think about legacy, I do not think about streams or trophies or headlines. I think about what I built that will still be standing when I am not in the room. This foundation is that answer for me right now. I have been on stages all over the world. I have done the coronation performance for King Charles. I have collaborated with Beyoncé. I have been on the Forbes cover. None of that matters more to me than the idea that because of this programme, a young girl from Lagos or a young producer from Kano gets access to world class training, builds a sustainable career, and one day does the same thing for someone else.
That cycle of talent being discovered, developed, and then turning back to invest in the next generation is the legacy. That is what I am building. Music has given me everything. This is my way of making sure that gift does not stop with me.
I want the Tiwa Savage Music Foundation to be around long after I have moved on to whatever comes next. I want it to be a permanent fixture in the African creative landscape, a name that becomes synonymous with opportunity, excellence, and the belief that African talent deserves the best the world has to offer.
CLOSING
For Tiwa Savage, the Berklee in Lagos programme is not simply an educational initiative. It is a statement about where African music is heading and who gets to shape that future. By placing access, knowledge, and mentorship at the center of the conversation, she is investing in the conditions that allow talent to last, evolve, and multiply. If the programme succeeds, its impact will not be measured in one showcase or one cohort, but in the careers and ecosystems that grow from the opportunities it creates.
