Latest news with #DavidAdedejiAdeleke
Malay Mail
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Malay Mail
From Lagos to the world: Davido sees Afrobeats — and Nigeria's spirit — rising
LAGOS, April 22 — The way Davido sees it, Nigerian culture is having a moment. 'We're very popular, not only in music,' the 32-year-old Afrobeats star told AFP during a recent interview in Paris, pointing to the film, food and fashion influence his country is increasingly exporting to the rest of the world. Even amid criticism from some that American artists are starting to crib from Afrobeats' sound, his response is: 'I like it.' And yet, the Nigerian-American artist — a self-described citizen of the world — sees the future of the continent tied to those who stay home, rather than its influential diaspora. 'Everybody always has the American dream,' he told AFP. 'Every kid that grows up in Africa wants to visit America. That's cool. It's okay to visit, but don't leave your people and go there.' Those might be tough words to swallow for his compatriots battling the worst economic crisis in a generation. In recent years, 'japa' — the Yoruba word for 'escape' — has become country-wide slang for emigrating to greener, and richer pastures. Davido, born David Adedeji Adeleke in Atlanta, in some ways straddles the tension between a growing, bustling Nigeria of more than 200 million people and a world that finally seems to be waking up to the so-called Giant of Africa. Speaking to AFP ahead of the release of his new album, 5ive — out Friday — he confidently says the record 'is going to touch every part of the world.' 'We have music for the French people. We have music for the Caribbean people. We have music for the Americans, Africans, everybody,' he said. 'It's like a full, global package album.' Eight million monthly listeners With some more than eight million monthly listeners — including Britain's King Charles — Davido is riding, and shaping, the global Afrobeats craze. But Davido himself is also a product of African music. 'I grew up in an African household where we were always throwing parties, music was always playing in the house, going in the car to school, my parents playing music,' he enthusiastically recalled. As a teenager, a cousin in the industry took him to a studio, where 'for the first time, I saw somebody create music... African music.' 'That's when I fell in love with it,' said Davido, spotting a grey conical woollen cap and jewellery dangling over a black T-shirt. A few years later, he was mixing and mastering his own tunes by the age of 16, drawing inspiration from artists such as P-Square, a Nigerian duo that drew some of their hits from American influences such as Michael Jackson. Davido now sees artists' musical influence flowing across the Atlantic in the other direction. 'It's a privilege for another culture to try to imitate what you're doing,' he told AFP in response to a question about critics who accuse American artists of trying to mime Afrobeats' style. 'In Nigeria we do hip hop too. We have rappers that rap. We have people that do R&B.' 'Music is a universal language. So I don't see any problem with that.' Davido counts among some of his popular tracks 'Unavailable' and 'Aye'. 'African music has changed narrative' For all his worldly outlook, Davido said he hasn't lost focus on Nigeria. 'We've been going through hard times,' he told AFP. 'Nigeria is a very rich country with so much talent, so much grace, so much opportunity.' 'I was asked a question saying, why don't we sing about (Nigeria's struggles) in our music?' he recalled. 'I was like, man, that's not the type of music my people would really like to hear.' 'I have sung about it in the past. But I'm very vocal about it more in Africa than in America.' As he prepares to embark on a world tour — including stops in Paris, London, New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles — he knows where at least part of his success has come from. 'African music has changed the narrative of how Africans are looked at around the world.' — AFP
Gulf Today
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Gulf Today
Afrobeats megastar Davido sees Nigeria's star rising
The way Davido sees it, Nigerian culture is having a moment. 'We're very popular, not only in music,' the 32-year-old Afrobeats star said during a recent interview in Paris, pointing to the film, food and fashion influence his country is increasingly exporting to the rest of the world. Even amid criticism from some that American artists are starting to crib from Afrobeats' sound, his response is: 'I like it.' And yet, the Nigerian-American artist — a self-described citizen of the world — sees the future of the continent tied to those who stay home, rather than its influential diaspora. 'Everybody always has the American dream,' he said. 'Every kid that grows up in Africa wants to visit America. That's cool. It's okay to visit, but don't leave your people and go there.' Those might be tough words to swallow for his compatriots battling the worst economic crisis in a generation. In recent years, 'japa' — the Yoruba word for 'escape' — has become country-wide slang for emigrating to greener, and richer pastures. Davido, born David Adedeji Adeleke in Atlanta, in some ways straddles the tension between a growing, bustling Nigeria of more than 200 million people and a world that finally seems to be waking up to the so-called Giant of Africa. Speaking to AFP ahead of the release of his new album, '5ive'— out on Friday — he confidently says the record 'is going to touch every part of the world.' 'We have music for the French people. We have music for the Caribbean people. We have music for the Americans, Africans, everybody,' he said. 'It's like a full, global package album.' With some more than eight million monthly listeners — including Britain's King Charles — Davido is riding, and shaping, the global Afrobeats craze. But Davido himself is also a product of African music. 'I grew up in an African household where we were always throwing parties, music was always playing in the house, going in the car to school, my parents playing music,' he enthusiastically recalled. As a teenager, a cousin in the industry took him to a studio, where 'for the first time, I saw somebody create music... African music.' 'That's when I fell in love with it,' said Davido, spotting a grey conical woollen cap and jewellery dangling over a black T-shirt. A few years later, he was mixing and mastering his own tunes by the age of 16, drawing inspiration from artists such as P-Square, a Nigerian duo that drew some of their hits from American influences such as Michael Jackson. Davido now sees artists' musical influence flowing across the Atlantic in the other direction. 'It's a privilege for another culture to try to imitate what you're doing,' he told AFP in response to a question about critics who accuse American artists of trying to mime Afrobeats' style. 'In Nigeria we do hip hop too. We have rappers that rap. We have people that do R&B.' 'Music is a universal language. So I don't see any problem with that.' Davido counts among some of his popular tracks 'Unavailable' and 'Aye'. For all his worldly outlook, Davido said he hasn't lost focus on Nigeria. 'We've been going through hard times,' he said. 'Nigeria is a very rich country with so much talent, so much grace, so much opportunity.' 'I was asked a question saying, why don't we sing about (Nigeria's struggles) in our music?' he recalled. 'I was like, man, that's not the type of music my people would really like to hear.' 'I have sung about it in the past. But I'm very vocal about it more in Africa than in America.' As he prepares to embark on a world tour — including stops in Paris, London, New York, Atlanta, and Los Angeles — he knows where at least part of his success has come from. 'African music has changed the narrative of how Africans are looked at around the world.' Agence France-Presse
The Guardian
18-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Davido: 5ive review – flashes of Afropop excellence
One of the lodestars turning Afrobeats into an international phenomenon, Nigerian supernova David Adedeji Adeleke isn't as famous in the UK as Burna Boy, Wizkid or Rema – he's yet to have a hit such as Last Last, One Dance or Calm Down. Also, as his fifth album hints, his appeal may simply not be as global as theirs. Davido's albums (always 17 tracks) deal in the sort of subtle, luxurious beats that you'd hear anywhere from beachside bars to barbershops. At its best, 5ive is a decent sequel to 2023's Timeless, which marked the apotheosis of Afropop's ability to stealthily subsume elements of other genres into its wonderfully delicate, shuffling rhythms, creating something sui generis yet instantly comprehensible. Be There Still has a sticky chorus, and the Chic-ish guitar on With You nods towards a diversion into disco. Davido sings well – Don't Know shows off his yearning side; Anything swaddles a motivational anthem in soft harmonies. There isn't too much to excite beyond that though. The opening poem is pompous and annoying, while the album's baggy middle is often windy, repetitive and unambitious. A sharper, shorter collection would be better.
