TiTi Owusu currently has four songs out including her latest record ‘Make Me Believe (Nana)’ and all are about love. Safe to say, love is a crucial motif in TiTi’s artistic toolbox.
Love is at the center of everything she has ever done from honing her artistic passion starting at age nine to owning her plus-size body and never failing to serve it on a platinum platter.
I’ve been a fan from a distance. When I finally meet the artiste behind these hopeless romantic love songs, it won’t take long for me to realize that ‘girl…she’s really about that life‘. She oozes so much simplistic confidence, seemingly natural of someone who, for a long time, has always dared to do whatever they loved anywhere, anytime, and with anyone.
It’s not surprising that we begin the conversation with magazine covers, a childhood fantasy that continues to excite the ‘Queen of the New School’ as her Debonair Afrik cover issue extols. The genre-bending artist who debuted in 2019 with “Karma” featuring Itz Tiffany, was styled in five different looks with each alluding to her “Sassy, Young, and Gifted” tagline on almost all official social media platforms.
MA: I have seen you being a cover girl. How much do you love being a cover girl?
TiTi: I do. I grew up watching America’s Next Top Model where they ended up having to be a cover girl. I always loved it and I thought it was cool. So being a cover girl was like living that moment for me so yeah I loved it.
MA: What was the story behind the looks of the Debonair Afrik Issue?
TiTi: Okay so the title of the magazine cover was ‘Black, Body, and Love’. It was to celebrate black bodies and artists who preach love in their music or spread love, so this was a good one for me.
MA: What magazine would you love to be on the cover and Why?
TiTi: There are so many but I would pick Vogue because I have not seen any Ghanaian artist on the cover and I don’t see them covering plus-size people like me often. Being on the cover would be a good representation and show people like me to dream big.
MA: What inspires your fashion choices?
TiTi: To be honest I dress to be comfortable. Basically, I am inspired by what I see in the mirror. If I look in the mirror and I look good then I know that’s the one because sometimes you can put an outfit together in your head but it doesn’t turn out the way you imagined. So you make changes then you look in the mirror and you feel good.
MA: How will you define your style?
TiTi: I would say my style is Cute, Bubbly, and very Classy.
MA: Does your music influence your fashion style?
TiTi: Well with the kind of music that I do it’s always important to present yourself very nicely and exude a certain kind of confidence and classiness, and if I am not comfortable with what I am wearing then you wouldn’t get that from me.
MA: What’s your most iconic look?
TiTi: I don’t know what other people will choose but for me, it was the denim on denim for the Debonair Afrik Cover, it was iconic and cool.
MA: Have you ever experienced a wardrobe malfunction as an artiste and how did you handle it?
TiTi: Yes I have and I think it was this year. I was so thankful it wasn’t with my dress but with my shoes. I don’t know how but one of my straps got lost so I had to wear it without it and perform on stage, I ended up tucking the other strap under my feet making it look like that’s how the shoes look naturally. It stressed me out a little bit but we handled it.
MA: There is some kind of pressure for female artists to dress or look a certain type of way, have you ever felt that pressure to change your style to fit in?
TiTi: I have. I think people expect you to always present yourself like a superstar even when you haven’t necessarily gotten there yet. They expect you to look expensive, to look couture because they don’t want you to be wearing what everybody else is wearing and that can be difficult.
MA: What’s your go-to outfit for performing?
TiTi: I would say a Peplum dress or a skirt with a nice crop top.
MA: Speaking of performing, aside from your vocals what musical instruments do you like and why?
TiTi: Saxophone, mostly because it’s in most of my songs. Well, I have four songs out and it is in three of them and it’s just peaceful listening to the sound.
MA: Your new single is a beautiful piece, what’s the inspiration behind “Make Me Believe (Nana)?”
TiTi: As romantics, sometimes it’s a bit difficult going through multiple relationships. Sometimes people give up on love, so the purpose of this song was to spread hope and let people know that even after all of these things, you should believe in love, or you need to have that kind of hope that someday somehow somebody will come along and make you feel great and make you forget those things you have been through. So ‘Make Me Believe’ is basically to tell people to be hopeful.
MA: What was the inspiration behind the cover of “Make Me Believe (Nana)”
TiTi: It’s an African-inspired song and I had to connect with my Ashanti roots. And what better way than to give an African hairstyle? The Ashanti people are known for gold so we had to incorporate that in the cover as well.
MA: Listening to “Make Me Believe (Nana)” and your other singles, it seems your music follows a pattern and has love as the driving force. What is your relationship with love?
TiTi: I think about love a lot because I believe that whatever you put out in the universe you will get it back and I believe that everyone would love to be loved, spreading love is important. I remember having a poll recently on Instagram asking if people believe in love and 20% said no, I feel like as artists we need to celebrate love more often and get people to believe in love because love is what is going to heal us all.
MA: So what’s next for Titi Owusu?
TiTi: I would say a global takeover but one step at a time, this year I will be putting out a project and I can’t wait.
Written by
Thelma Quainoo is my name, and my pen name is Miss Anowaa. My zodiac sign is Aries, and that alone will tell you I am a bubbly soul. A writer and an aspiring public relations practitioner. Find me on IG as @miss_anowaa. #beyouloveyou