Nigerian music star, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido or OBO (Omo Baba Olowo), turned 30 on 21 November.
Unlike his previous birthdays, the singer has laid low and gone off social media since the death of his son, Ifeanyi, in October.
Although his hurt is felt by everyone that holds him dear, many pray he breaks his silence and returns with his beautiful energy.
Throughout his 11-year career, the artist has had some defining moments. Here, PREMIUM TIMES highlights a few of them
2012 Next rated and back-to-back hits
Davido won the Next Rated Award in 2012 at The Headies after releasing “Dami Duro”, the second single from his debut album Omo Baba Olowo (2012).
This win made his mark in the music industry permanently engraved in the hearts of fans. Between 2013 and 2015, he released several hit singles, including ‘Gobe’, ‘Skelewu’, ‘Aye’ and ‘One of a kind’.
DMW launch and Sony Deal
In January 2016, he signed a record deal with Sony Music and founded the record label Davido Music Worldwide (DMW), to which acts Dremo, Mayorkun, Peruzzi and Liya have been signed.
In July 2016, Davido signed a record deal with Sony’s RCA Records. In October 2016, he released the 5-track EP ‘Son of Mercy’, which was supported by the singles “Gbagbe Oshi”, “How Long”, and “Coolest Kid in Africa”.
The following year, Davido re-negotiated his contract with Sony due to creative control issues and that same year released five singles, including “If” and “Fall”.
He also released hit songs ‘Fia’ and ‘Assurance’ in 2017.
A GOOD TIME, A BETTER TIME
His second studio album ‘A Good Time’ was released in November 2019, supported by singles including ‘Blow My Mind’ featuring famous American singer Chris Brown.
He was also cited as one of the Top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2019 and sold out the 02 Arena concert that same year.
The artist released his third studio album, “A Better Time”, in November 2020. This album has a picture of his late son as a baby on his hand as the album cover.
Birthday Fundraiser
During his 29th birthday in November 2021, the afrobeat singer took to his Instagram story to ask colleagues to each send him a million naira.
David noted that he received N200m from fans and friends and added a million to the money.
He donated N250m to all orphanages across Nigeria; he constituted a five-person committee to take care of the logistics and disburse the money.
The singer made this known in a statement ahead of the birthday. To disburse the money, he constituted a five-man committee to take care of the logistics.
FIFA 2022, AWAY Festival
In March 2022, Davido was featured on “Hayya Hayya (Better Together)” alongside (Trinidad Cardona and AISHA) the first single of the multi-song FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Official Soundtrack. It marked Davido as the first Nigerian singer featured in a FIFA World Cup single.
In May 2022, Davido released another song titled “Stand Strong” that featured The Samples Choir and differed from his conventional style of music.
He also announced his first annual festival titled ” Are We African Yet (A.W.A.Y)”, which was to be held at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, on the 18 November, now moved to 2023.
02 performance (2022)
In March 2022, Davido was one of two African acts to sell out London’s 02 arena multiple times.
The highlights of his show began with his assistant, Israel, opening the show in Benin attire and songs.
Davido was also honoured by the house of representatives of Belize, Honorable Shyne Barrow, with an award as an outstanding global citizen.
He also performed with Victony, Mayorkun, and Popcaan and received a new watch from luxury jeweller Benny Da Jeweler, who put on his latest piece right in front of a mammoth 20,000 intense crowd.
Morgan Freeman
In March 2020, the artist released a promo video for his concert, which legendary American actor Morgan Freeman voiced.
Referring to Davido’s musical prowess and strides, Freeman, in his signature voice, said, “We rise by lifting others. This is part of his (Davido’s) legacy. Everything he does is for this purpose. This music is a way of not just inspiring people but lifting them. We rise by lifting others to join Davido as he shuts down London 02 Arena. Join the live stream exclusively on UDUX”.
It was the first time the respected actor known for his distinctive voice would do a project for any Nigerian act or brand.
Freeman is known for his various roles in various film genres.
Gold certifications
Davido’s single hits ‘If’ and ‘fall’ were certified gold in the United States of America after selling over 500,000 digital and physical copies.
Although both songs were released in 2017, ‘If’ was certified gold in 2020, while Fall was certified gold in 2021.
These certifications were given by the RIAA.
Davido’s 2019 album, ‘A Good Time’ and two other singles, ‘Blow my Mind’ featuring Chris Brown and ‘Risky’, also went platinum.
The latter, which featured Jamaican dancehall act, Popcaan, went double platinum.
26M+ Instagram followers
The artist has a massive following of over 26 million followers on Instagram, the highest among Nigerian artists.
Davido trails ahead of Wizkid, who has over 15 million followers, and Burna boy, who has over 12 million followers.
This massive following has brought him many ambassadorial deals and endorsements.
PLAYSTATION
In March 2022, he partnered with Japanese game developers of Gran Turismo to launch a gaming contest on Playstation
In celebration of the launch of the Gran Turismo 7 racing game. Playstation unveiled Davido as one of the celebrities to be the face of the new edition and online challenge.
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Coming To America
In 2021, Davido played a cameo role as himself in Coming to America 2, the much-anticipated sequel to the 1988 film.
It was a big feat because of the new audience that it introduced him to and the relevance of the film.
During the movie, he also performed one of his hit songs, ‘assurance’.
ENDSARS Protest
David met with the Inspector General of Police, Muhammadu Adamu, over the #EndSARS protests in 2020.
The protests were against widespread atrocities committed by personnel of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and the police.
The FEM crooner had joined other protesters on the streets of Abuja as the protests continued in parts of the country despite the announcement of the dissolution of the police unit.
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