It is important to make it clear from the get-go that this article is
not about who is better than who, or who international pass. In this
piece, I’d be looking at the high points of the music career of Davido,
bearer of the
Omo Baba Olowo title; since it began in 2011.
From the days of attempting to introduce himself to the industry with
Back When, to this day, when
Fall, If, Pere
have become hot market products from the same maker; Davido has built
for himself an enviable music career. There might be some spottable
imperfections, but with the impressive number of landmarks and
achievements he has recorded, one would be tempted to agree with him on
his self-conferred legendary status.
In a period of about six years, not only has Davido piled up several
grand titles (Omo Baba Olowo, Baddest, Mr Ronaldo), the DMW boss has
claimed tens of awards for himself and he is poised to claim more and
more awards, with his liking for releasing hot-selling musicals and
visuals alike.
So cheers to more musical success for the singer, here are 5 notable highlights of his career thus far:
- Dami Duro: The Breakout Song
Davido’s first attempt at mainstream music might have been the release of
Back When on
which he featured Naeto C, but the song that did the major announcement
of the arrival of a rich kid from the west, on the Nigerian music
scene, was
Dami Duro. Davido’s breakout story would never be thoroughly told without reference to
Dami Duro,
with which the then tenderfoot artiste, was loud and clear about his
unstoppable push for success. The success of the song earned him the
Headies Next Rated Award, laying the groundwork for more successes to
follow.
- A Highly Successful Debut Album
Following
Dami Duro, Davido learnt and mastered the art of
releasing hit singles, making himself comfortable in the music industry
in the process. By the time he had dropped three to four monster hits,
and his name started to feature regularly in household gists; it was
time to compile the songs in the form of a debut album. When
The Genesis/
O.B.O album dropped, containing
All Of You, Ekuro, Bless Me, Overseas, Dollars In The Bank,
there was no doubt about the artistic abilities of the son of Adeleke.
The album scored massive market points and it also won the Headies
R&B/Pop Album of the year award.
- BET Africa: Winning An International Award
Davido might have been considered a rising star pre-2013, but between
the period of 2013 – 2014 his career rose to astronomical heights. It
was during that period that he released songs like
Gobe, Skelewu, Aye.
He literally monopolized the top of music charts, although appearing
with different songs, but as the same dominant artiste. Not only did he
win awards for best song of the year, artiste of the year at the 2014
Headies award; he was at the Nokia Theatre L.A live in the city of
angels, to claim the award for BET Best International Act: Africa. The
award which has now become the international stamp for African artistes,
confirmed Davido’s dominance on the African continent.
- Signing International Deal With Sony Music
Having conquered the African continent, Davido set out to achieve
global stardom by signing a distribution and recording deal with
international music powerhouse; Sony Music. With this deal, his music
got a wider distribution reach, also, the deal eased the penetration of
his music into the music market beyond the African border.
- Cristiano Ronaldo Becoming His Fan
Davido’s push into the international market has been reaping some
level of blessings in the form of new set of fans outside the African
community, these new group of fans includes international celebrities.
Stars like R.Kelly, Meek Mill, Taraji P. Henson, Omarion have all shown
their love for Davido’s
music in public, and at different times.
However, Cristiano Ronaldo’s singular act of following Davido on
Instagram, seem to be one of the singer’s most welcomed sign of
international success. In Davido’s usual way of celebrating things, he
openly gushed about it and it is understandable why. Getting to attract
the attention of arguably the biggest athlete in the world, is not a run
in the mill for artistes from this side of the sphere, but that is now
changing, in a steady but sure way with Davido playing a big part in
getting people around the world to appreciate the beauty of African
music.
For what it’s worth, Davido is a first-rate product of the African
music community. Contrary to the belief that his career was paid for in
cash, a better look at it would confirm to you that hard work and brains
also have input in his success story. He isn’t the first rich kid to
venture into the music business but he rose above that subset, to excel
in a larger group that comprises of artistes of all background-type.
OBO might appear to be a self-publicist but at least he has
chart-topping songs to his credit and he can claim to be one of Africa’s
biggest artistes. These things aren’t freely given and they are
certainly not purchasable from stores. Davido’s successful music career
has benefited from the countless studio hours he has spent, his talent,
the quality of his management team, fate perhaps, and of course, his
easy access to money. He is destined for more achievements, as he is
currently one of the artistes tipped to take African music to the zenith
of the world music.
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