Singer Tiwa Savage has clarified her controversial “f*ck the top three” remark, saying it was not aimed at Wizkid, Burna Boy, or Davido, but at the industry narrative that reduces Afrobeats to only three names.
Gatekeepers News reports that the controversy began in August during her London album launch concert, when she told the crowd:
“I have a lot of things to say but I will be trending by tomorrow, is this a safe place? F*ck the top three.”
Because the phrase “Big Three” is widely associated with Wizkid, Burna Boy, and Davido, her comment drew heavy backlash online.
But speaking in a recent interview on The Breakfast Club, Savage explained that her criticism was of the label, not the artistes.
“Not ‘f*ck them’ but the narrative of the big three. F that narrative, because this is a continent with so many artistes, and we keep reducing it to just three every time,” she said.
She cited stars like Yemi Alade, Flavour, Asake, Tems, and Rema as examples of global Afrobeats acts often excluded from the conversation.
“We have Yemi Alade, Flavour, Asake, Tems, Rema, why are they not included in the top three?”
Savage added that the narrative persists largely because of the artistes’ strong fan bases.
“They have a very strong fan base. Their fan bases are active, I guess that’s why,” she said.
This is not the first time Savage has challenged the concept. She has previously argued that the “Big Three” framing sidelines the achievements of women in Afrobeats, questioning why a global star like Tems is not automatically counted among the top.
