David Adedeji Adeleke, better known by his stage name Davido, is a Nigerian American
recording artist, performer, and record producer.
In 2011, he co-produced and released "Dami Duro", a song well-received throughout Nigeria.
Along with his elder brother Adewale Adeleke, Davido is the co-owner of HKN Music, a record
label home to Sina Rambo, B. Red, and DeeKay.
He has produced for numerous artists, including Naeto C, Skales, Tiwa Savage, and Sauce Kid.
In April 2012, he signed an endorsement deal with MTN Nigeria.
On October 23, 2013, Davido partnered with Guinness for the "Guinness World of More"
concert.
Davido has won a BET Award, a Kora Award, a Channel O Music Video Award, a Ghana Music
Award, a Nigeria Music Video Award, two MTV Africa Music Awards, two African Muzik Magazine
Awards, three The Headies Awards, four Nigeria Entertainment Awards, and two Dynamix All
Youth Awards, among others.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Davido relocated to Lagos at a young age.
He released his debut album Omo Baba Olowo in 2012, which contained the singles "Back
When" featuring Naeto C, "Dami Duro", "All of You", "Overseas" featuring Sina Rambo,
"Ekuro", "Gbon Gbon", and "Feel Alright" featuring Ice Prince.
Davido has released the singles "Gobe", "One of a Kind", "Skelewu", "Aye", and "Tchelete"
off his upcoming album; the upcoming album, currently untitled, was slated to be released
in the fourth quarter of 2014.
In a 2014 interview with the Nigerian Tribune, Davido said that his second studio album will
not be released in 2014.
Life and music career 1992–2010: Early life
Davido was born on November 21, 1992 to Mr. and Mrs. Adeleke in Atlanta, Georgia.
His father, Chief Deji Adeleke, is a Nigerian business magnate while his mother, the late
Dr. Vero Adeleke, was a university lecturer.
He attended The British International School in Lagos.
Davido studied Business Administration at Oakwood University prior to relocating to
Nigeria.
He is currently studying at Babcock University in Ogun State.
2011–2012:Omo Baba Olowo
Work on Davido's debut studio album Omo Baba Olowo began in 2011.
On May 7, 2011, Davido produced and released "Back When", his first song ever recorded.
The song served as the album's lead single, and received frequent airplay.
The music video for the single, uploaded onto YouTube on May 9, 2011, was shot and directed
in Nigeria by Clarence Peters.
Davido told Factory 78 TV that he recorded "Back When" in London.
On October 30, 2011, Davido released "Dami Duro", a song he co-produced with Shizzi.
The music video for "Dami Duro" was released on January 8, 2012.
It was shot and directed in Lagos by Clarence Peters, and was released during the Occupy
Nigeria protests.
In an interview posted on Notjustok, Davido spoke on the release and composition of "Dami
Duro".
He said that he recorded "Dami Duro" in August 2011.
Three months later, the song got leaked after he sent it out to some friends.
On May 6, 2012, HKN Music released "Overseas", a single off the album.
The unfinished version of the song leaked prior to the official release.
On September 28, 2012, HKN Music released the music video for "All of You".
The song was produced by Gospelondabeat.
When the song was released, it was rumored to be a "beef track".
In another interview with Factory 78 TV, Davido debunked the rumors and said that he recorded
the song with Gospel after meeting him at a mall.
To further promote the album, Davido released music videos for "Ekuro", "Gbon Gbon", and
"Feel Alright".
2013–present:Upcoming album In early 2013, Davido began recording his
second studio album.
On February 25, 2013, he released the upcoming album's lead single titled "Gobe".
The song was produced by Shizzi, HKN Music's in-house producer.
Charles Mgbolu of Vanguard commented on the release of the single, saying, "It’s a beautiful
song with a tremendous video running along.
In Gobe, Davido is beaten up by thugs after winning the girl.
It’s a song that exudes fun from start to finish."
The music video for the single was shot in South Africa by Godfather Productions.
The song was ranked second on Premium Times list of the Top 10 songs of 2013.
Davido announced via Twitter that the second single "One of a Kind", from the upcoming
album, would be released on May 13, 2013.
The song was also produced by the aforementioned in-house producer.
The music video for "One of a Kind" was shot and directed in South Africa by Tebza of Godfather
Productions.
It visualizes a united Africa rich in culture and music.
"Skelewu", the third single from the upcoming album, was released on August 13, 2013.
It was ranked 5th on the aforementioned list of the top 10 songs of 2013.
The song peaked at number 1 on Afribiz's Top 100 chart.
A dance competition with a cash prize of $3000 was announced days after the release of the
song.
Davido uploaded an instructional dance video onto YouTube, and asked fans to upload videos
of themselves dancing to "Skelewu".
On October 10, 2013, Davido declared Bello Moshood Abiola the winner of the competition.
A week after announcing the winner of the Skelewu dance competition, a Sesan directed
music video was released to the public.
Shortly after the release of the video, Davido took to twitter to debunk the video, claiming
that someone betrayed him by releasing it.
He also said that he'll re-shoot the video with Moe Musa, a UK based music video director.
Sesan commented on the release of the music video and said that Davido was satisfied with
his contributions to the music video.
He also said that it would be immature for Davido and his management to release inaccurate
statements in order to defame his brand.
On October 21, 2013, the official music video for the single, shot and directed in London
by Moe Musa, was uploaded onto YouTube at a total length of 3 minutes and 56 seconds.
On February 2, 2014, Davido released "Aye", the fourth single from his upcoming album.
The song was produced by T Spice.
The music video for "Aye" was released on February 7, 2014; it was directed by Clarence
Peters.
According to the music video's synopsis, "Davido plays a poor farmer who falls in love with
the prince’s love interest."
On April 30, 2014, HKN Music released the upcoming album's fifth single "Tchelete" featuring
South African duo Mafikizolo.
The song, which translates to "Money", was produced by Oskido and Shizzi.
Upon its release, the song was distributed by MTN's Play and Callertunez platforms.
The collaboration between Davido and Mafikizolo came about as a result of them networking
at MTN Nigeria's Elite Night event in December 2013.
The music video for the song was shot and directed in South Africa.
It was uploaded onto YouTube on May 1, 2014.
Oskido and Uhuru made cameo appearances in the video.
In June 2014, Davido collaborated with Mi Casa, Lola Rae, Sarkodie, Diamond Platnumz,
and Tiwa Savage on a song for DSTV's Africa Rising campaign, which was designed to inspire
Africans to partake in community-based social investment projects.
The music video for the song, released on June 24, 2014, was shot and directed by South
African production house Callback Dream.
The aforementioned artists performed the song at the Africa Rising launch ceremony in Mauritius.
In July 2014, Davido told The New Age newspaper that he has collaborated with American rappers
Rick Ross and Meek Mill.
Endorsements On April 6, 2012, Nigerian Entertainment Today
reported that Davido signed a N30 million endorsement deal with MTN.
The deal unveiled him as the face of MTN Pulse, a marketing campaign for Nigerian youths.
On October 24, 2013, Pulse reported that Guinness Nigeria signed Davido to an endorsement deal.
As part of the deal, Davido performed at the Guinness World of More Concert alongside P-Square,
D'banj, Wizkid, Ice Prince, Burna Boy, Olamide, Phyno, Chidinma, Waje, and Tiwa Savage, among
others.
Controversy Bribery allegations
In May 2014, Davido slandered the Nigerian Immigration Service after missing his flight
to London.
He accused them of pestering him for money.
On May 11, 2014, the Public Relations Officer for the NIS debunked Davido's allegations
and said that they didn't issue him an exit permit because he didn't have the proper traveling
documents with him at the time.
Discography Studio albums
Omo Baba Olowo Singles
Awards and nominations The Future Africa Awards
Kora Awards BET Awards
African Muzik Magazine Awards Dynamix All Youth Awards
MTV Africa Music Awards World Music Awards
Channel O Music Video Awards Nigeria Music Video Awards
4Syte TV Music Video Awards Ghana Music Awards
Nigeria Entertainment Awards City People Entertainment Awards
The Headies References
External links Official website
Davido on Twitter