Until recently, the Nigerian superstar added freedom fighter to one of his many titles; addressing and protesting against police brutality in Nigeria. David Adeleke, Davido; is our Man Crush for this week.
David Adedeji Adeleke better professionally as Davido, is an American-born Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer born in November 1992 in Atlanta USA.
He studied Business Administration at Oakwood University before dropping out to make beats and record vocal references. Davido rose to fame after releasing “Dami Duro”, the second single from his debut studio album Omo Baba Olowo (2012), from which six additional singles “Back When”, “Ekuro”, “Overseas”, “All of You”, “Gbon Gbon”, and “Feel Alright”—were taken. In 2012, Davido won the Next Rated award at The Headies. Between 2013 and 2015, he released the hit singles “Gobe”, “One of a Kind”, “Skelewu”, “Aye”, “Tchelete (Goodlife)”, “Naughty”, “Owo Ni Koko”, “The Sound” and “The Money”.
Portfolio Accolades
January 2016, Davido announced via Twitter that he signed a record deal with Sony Music. His announcement was met with mixed reactions.
The record label put out a press release to confirm the deal.
Davido started his own label, Davido Music Worldwide (DMW), few months after signing with Sony. Dremo and Mayorkun are currently signed to the label.
In July 2016, Davido signed a record deal with Sony’s RCA Records.
Davido’s second studio album A Good Time was released on November 22, 2019. The album features the previously released singles “If”, “Fall”, “Assurance”, “Blow My Mind” and “Risky”. Davido recorded A Good Time in Atlanta. He told Vibe magazine he wanted to record in a new environment.
Davido described the album as a body of work for everybody and said it would consist predominantly of Afrobeats but would incorporate elements of other genres. Davido disclosed the album’s title during an event held in Lagos in September 2019 and said it would be released the following month. He also unveiled excerpts of four songs from the album during the event.
Collaborations
Following his performance at Powerhouse 2019, Davido spoke with Power 105.1’s DJ Self and said the album will feature collaborations with artists including; Summer Walker, Gunna, A Boogie and Chris Brown. All but one of the tracks on A Good Time were produced by Nigerian producers. The album’s cover art features Davido, his father and a sculpture of his mother.
In May 2020, Davido announced that his upcoming third studio album would be titled A Better Time; and that it would include 11 tracks, with features from Nicki Minaj and Tiwa Savage. He also in July 2020, performed on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and was seen in studio with rapper Nas.
Davido returned to social media after taking a three-month break to chat with the Grammy Museum on Instagram Live; about the rise of Afrobeats and other issues within the industry. During the Live session, Davido also revealed that he has completed work on his A Better Time. No release date has yet been specified. On September 10, 2020, Davido returned with the single, “FEM”, alongside its music video
Davido The Freedom Fighter
Davido also bagged the freedom fighter title this October; The music star who tweeted on Saturday, October 10, 2020, about his planned trip to Abuja, the capital of Nigeria; joined other protesters as they moved around the streets of Nigeria’s capital.
He called on Nigerians living in Abuja to join him in the End Sars/ police brutality protest.
Davido’s call ignited other international musicians including Trey Songz, Chance The Rapper, Big Sean to seek the disbandment of the SARS and and of police brutality in Nigeria.
Davido didn’t just protest as he helped secure the release of some of the protesters who had been arrested by the police authority.
#EndSars Davido
Following the dissolving of special anti-robbery squad (SARS), in Nigeria, he took over to his twitter page and announced his meeting with the Inspector General of Police on monday the 12th of October 2020.
The ‘OBO’ crooner also enjoined Nigerians to join him for the meeting, adding that such would “mean a lot” to him.
“I am meeting with the inspector-general of police tomorrow 10am …. all my colleagues if you can get to Abuja tomorrow before 10 am and follow me to the meeting! It would mean a lot,” he wrote.
Amidst it all. We must not forget the reasons we are protesting, we must not forget the peaceful manner of the protests and we must most certainly not back down until our demands are met! Sars ending is a great start but the task is far from completed!