Water & Garri (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Released in May 2024, *Water & Garri* marks Afrobeats superstar Tiwa Savage’s debut as a filmmaker. The feature-length film, where Savage takes on dual roles as lead actor and executive producer, unpacks the story of Aisha, a fashion designer who returns to Nigeria after a decade of living in the US and has to navigate cultural shifts within her hometown and how they manifest in her own life. Named after the West African staple cassava dish, the film loosely draws inspiration from Savage’s 2021 EP of the same title, a project that reflects her own mélange of global influences—gleaned from spending primary years in Lagos and teenage years in London, then attending university in the US—and the intersectionality of her journey through creativity and culture. Though they share a name, the two projects were created as stand-alone entities, with the film getting its own soundtrack of 10 original songs, giving Savage the opportunity to lean into more direct experiments with jazz, R&B, gospel, and folk elements, and allow for a full exploration of Aisha’s complex emotional journey. From love to grief, pain and joy, Savage tracks the story of Aisha with bold vocal statements underpinned by slick productions. A collab with Richard Bona and The Cavemen. (“Water & Garri”) allows for jazz and highlife infusions, while a turn with Aṣa (“Emotions”) sees them leaning into folk territory, and the Black Sherif- and Young Jonn-assisted “Kilimanjaro” brings in street pop and amapiano. “Lost Time” perhaps best captures the tension of reconciling the guilt of being away from home, while reminiscing about a past love and wanting to relive happier times.