Nigerian ace musician, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido is undoubtedly one of the biggest music brand icons to come out of Nigeria and across Africa. He has been putting the continent in its rightful place on the entertainment map with his enormous successes which is as a result of his talent and relentless hard work.
Born with the silver spoon and with his kind of lavish lifestyle, one would think the multiple award winning singer might have been spared the beef and sour grapes that come with being a celebrity in Nigeria but that has not been the case.
Since his foray into the music scene, there has been continuous criticisms and diatribes hurled at Davido by several people for being the son of a billionaire which has subdued the reality of the omo baba olowo crooner as an African giant. Davido, unwilling to take it anymore posted a video recently lamenting and condemning the hate he gets from critics merely because he was born into a wealthy family. “…I’m already used to it. I’ve been in this industry for 7 years and nobody supports me. It is just hate…because of what? My papa get money. Na my fault? I work hard, I deliver hits, I take care of my people…,” the singer was heard saying in the video.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1156442591593992193
Davido has from inception of his career as a musician earned every penny attached to his name without the help of Ademola Adeleke, his billionaire father. It can be recalled in all stories told about Davido, that his father had initially not been in support of him being a musician as he had always skipped school for studios and parties. Like many successful people in the industry, he dropped out school and later attended Babcock University where his father had paid for the institution to start a music department for an inaugural class of one, which was Davido. His father’s action was triggered by the fact that Davido never wanted to go to school but become a musician.
Davido’s former manager, Kamal Ajiboye, once confirmed his (Davido’s) love for music to Rawiya Kameir, a writer for THE FADER, saying that “people always say, ‘Oh, he’s just some rich kid.’ And he is…But they don’t realize that this music stuff—at first he did it alone.”
Davido’s estimated net worth, which is about $16million, proves that he is a billionaire just as his father. Before now, Davido had not been making money from directly selling his music, but the increase in use of online streaming services such as iTunes Store, YouTube and some other mobile apps, doubled his earnings. He is presently Africa’s highest paid musician for shows. He also earns from endorsement deals from huge brands like Infinix mobile, AXE perfumes and the host of others. Unknown to many, he is also a record producer and has produced songs for fellow musicians like Naeto C, Skales, Tiwa Savage and Sauce Kid.
If truly he is dependent on his father’s fortune, Davido would not have told Kameir that, “The show money is cool, but I need the kind of money that comes in the mail…Now, if I say no shows, where’s the money going to come from? I should be able to take my daughter somewhere and say, ‘I’m not doing no shows for two months.’ This is to confirm that a high earning celebrity as Davido, does not need to depend on the wealth of his ancestors to be a force that commands respect in the society.
Also, Davido has been compared with his fellow award-winning musician, Wizkid, who is also a force to be reckoned with in the industry but Davido’s talent has always been underrated. Wizkid is perceived to be talented both lyrically and vocally, while Davido has been tagged the ‘buyer’ who buys his lyrics with his father’s fortune. Wizkid has seemingly gained more respect because he was made from the ‘street’ while Davido has been looked down upon as an artiste who has used his father’s prominence as a stepping stone to stardom.
If these criticisms are valid, why is he consistently one of the top three nominated artistes for awards here in Nigeria? Why is he one of the four most nominated African artists for international awards? If he actually buys people over with money, he would at least not be in the international market. Why is he the most followed Nigerian celebrity on all social media paltforms?
His song ‘Fall’ is the first African music video to hit 100,000,000 views on YouTube. His 30 Billion Concert in Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island was the biggest concert ever held in Lagos.
Internationally, he has sold out shows and collaborated with the best international acts, performed at festivals and for the recognition of his unrelenting musical efforts, he has been nominated and won several international awards such as the BET Awards, MOBO Awards, Channel O Awards, MTV EMAs, and more.
Factually and following media polls, Davido is the most charitable celebrity in the Nigerian entertainment industry. He is known to be a giver and has never charged artists for collaborations. He is also known to buy expensive gifts for his label artistes and executives outside their contract deal.
These hardworking attributes of Davido’s gets one to wonder Why it is so seemingly hard to love Davido! He has proven to be consistent and creative by releasing hit songs back to back without relenting. Most of these naysayers are the ‘loud’ minority who pale in comparison with his millions of of adoring fans in Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. BRANDPOWER will strongly advise Davido to revel in the love of millions of his true fans across the world and stop bothering himself and losing sleep over the vocal few whose real true reason for all the bile is the green-eyed monster, i.e envy of his fame, the phenomenally successful Davido brand and, yes, wealth of his family.
Yetunde Adegoke
