25 Apr 2023

Popular American-born Nigerian singer and songwriter Davido joined other speakers at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Gaborone, Monday where he shared with the young delegates valuable insights into the music industry and what it takes to succeed as a young artist in today’s world.

The singer born David Adedeji Adeleke also met with President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi. His discussion at the summit provided an opportunity for the world’s most elite young game-changers to learn how he was able to turn into a successful musician and entrepreneur through the Afrobeat genre. He has established himself as one of the internationally recognised kings of Afrobeat, and currently, his latest album, Timeless, sits at position 2 on the Billboard.

He described this as a miracle especially following his break from the music scene, adding he needed the break after 12 years of non-stop dancing and production.
With its fusion of elements of West African musical styles and American sounds Afrobeat has become the latest genre to penetrate the international stage thanks to artists like Davido and advancement in social media.

Davido, who was making his third visit to the country, said a lot has changed especially in the USA, saying there was a time when people did not know anything about Africa. He partly credited Afrobeat for putting the continent in the global spotlight.

Talking about the genre, all he could say was, ‘Afrobeat is at World Class stage’.

He said the whole dynamics of music production had changed due to advances in technology, one could produce a song and be a star on Tik Tok the next day, hence it was important for one to be creative. Davido said music required a lot of money and one had to be signed by a recording company to produce music.

While he has become an international icon, raking in millions in the process, he said he was basically not in it just for the money. “I am marketing the culture, not about how much to pocket,” he said.

Forty per cent of streaming of Davido’s music comes from the US and he enjoys a huge social media following and has built different channels.

He started his musical journey by producing other singers but as time went on, he realised he could also sing and recorded his first song which people liked.

“In those days social media was not existing and I was still a student. I recorded the song on Friday and on Monday when I returned to school, everyone cheered,” he said adding that he later decided to quit college to focus on his music, something which did not please his father. His father is also a successful businessman who believes in education.

“My father was mad,” he said but judging from the success of his musical career and businesses, this is a move he never regrets.

He has a powerful Godfather, Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote and has learnt the ropes of business from him. “He taught me everything I know in business and he is very disciplined,” he said, adding Dangote and his father are childhood friends. In addition, Davido has a media company and hopes to continue expanding his brand.

He was scheduled to perform exclusively for Forbes 30 Summit Africa delegates on a night which also featured Jena Dominique, Nomcebo and Mercedes Benson. Ends