"Wanted" is a song by Nigerian singer

Tiwa Savage Tiwa Savage (born 5 February 1980) is a Nigerian singer-songwriter and performing artist. Born in Isale Eko, she relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup voc ...

from her debut studio album ''

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'' (2013). The song was produced by American producer Warren "Oak" Felder and samples the memorable line "out in the streets/they call it murder" from Damian Marley's " Welcome to Jamrock". The Moe Musa-directed music video for "Wanted" was released on 27 May 2014. Its release prompted a huge public backlash across various social networking sites, including

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and

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Music video

Background

The accompanying music video for "Wanted" was shot and directed by Moe Musa. It was released on May 27, 2014, and ran for 3 minutes and 31 seconds. In the video, Savage is seen wearing a nude body suit and mimicking the sexual act of fingering. Throughout the video, Savage writhed sensually and performed erotically-charged dance moves. In an interview with ''

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'', Savage said she released the video at a stage in her life at which she was comfortable with her body. She also said she wanted to explore her life as a woman and target the adult market.

Reception

Cultural reception to the music video was mixed. Critics who opposed the video argued that Nigerian artists shouldn't emulate sexual images often seen in western media at the expense of tarnishing the morality of the Nigerian culture. Conversely, those in support of the video praised its sexual nature and stance on sexual empowerment. Social critic

Charles Novia Charles Osa Igbinovia (born 20 November 1971), commonly known as Charles Novia, is a Nigerian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, social commentator and essayist. Born and raised in Benin City, the capital of Edo State, Novia is known ...

bluntly described the video as “stupid art”, while public figures such as

Uti Nwachukwu Uti Nwachukwu (, born 3 August 1982) is a style icon, TV personality, actor and the co-host of the Nigerian show Jara. He is a native of Ndokwa, Aboh Kingdom, Ndokwa East Local Government Area, Delta State, Nigeria. Early life Uti is the las ...

Gbemi Olateru Olagbegi Gbemi Olateru Olagbegi was a Nigerian broadcaster at The Beat 99.9 FM (she resigned in December 2021), entrepreneur and co-host of "Off-Air with Gbemi & Toolz" podcast. Gbemi is the grand-daughter of late Olowo of Owo Sir Olateru-Olagbegi II K ...

Dr SID Sidney Onoriode Esiri (born 1 May 1980), commonly known as Dr SID, is a Nigerian singer. Early life Dr SID is from Delta State, he was born and raised in Lagos. His mother is a fashion designer and his father, Justus Esiri, is an actor.

and Toolz described it as brilliant. A writer for '' The Sun'' said the video lacks originality, concluding: "Tiwa’s video does not fail because it is raunchy, because she is a married woman in-sistent on living out her fantasies or because of the questionable fashion tastes. It fails because after all the glossy hype, the video is utterly unoriginal, desperately copycat-ish and incredibly boring."

Live performances

In June 2014, Tiwa Savage performed "Wanted" at the Road to the MAMAs concert alongside her label mates

Di'Ja Hadiza Blell, now Hadiza Blell-Olo, better known by her stage name Di'Ja, is a Nigerian singer. She is currently signed to Mavin Records. In 2009, she released her first single "Rock Steady", which was nominated for Best Urban/R&B Single at th ...

, Korede Bello and

Reekado Banks Ayoleyi Hanniel Solomon (born 6 December 1993), better known by his stage name Reekado Banks, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. He signed with Mavin Records in 2014 and left the label in 2018. He went by the stage name Spicy before his recor ...

. She also performed the song at the 2014 edition of Africa Unplugged alongside

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), popularly known by his stage name Davido, is an American-Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. His music blends traditional African elements with global mainstream pop. Davido is widel ...

and

Diamond Platnumz Nasibu Abdul Juma Issack (born 2 October 1989), popularly known by his stage name Diamond Platnumz, is a Tanzanian bongo flava recording artist, dancer, philanthropist and a businessman of Ha heritage. He is the founder and CEO of WCB Wasafi R ...

Accolades

"Wanted" earned Tiwa Savage a nomination for Best Vocal Performance (Female) at

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References

External links

* {{Tiwa Savage 2013 songs Tiwa Savage songs Songs written by Tiffany Red Songs written by Tiwa Savage