This week makes it exactly 10 years that David Adeleke, more popularly known as Davido, has been in the Nigerian music Industry. What a ride it has been, looking back over the years it’s great to see the impact that Davido has had on the Nigerian Music Industry. Davido emerged on the scene as a super-rich kid who wanted to try his hand at this music thing. He dropped out of school in the United States without his fathers’ knowledge to come back home to Nigeria and start his music career.
A huge gamble, but lucky for him it’s one that paid off. In the last 10 years, Davido has released 1 EP, 3 albums, numerous singles, collaborations with many local and foreign artists, and has sold out shows all over the world. He’s proved his doubters wrong all through his career.
Today, Davido is one of the biggest African artists and it’s all down to him and his hard work.
We’re taking a look back at some of Davido’s most iconic hits.
Back When ft Naeto C
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rA4gE_Dtsw
Davido’s first-ever release hit the streets like a storm! Naeto C, one of the biggest artists in Nigeria at the time, recognized Davido’s potential and knew he was beginning his path to stardom.
Davido came under some scrutiny for the lyrics of this song. Critics were asking why he was claiming to be broke when he is the son of Adedeji Adeleke, one of the wealthiest people in Nigeria.
Dami Duro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CyUo6rQ2rU
If ‘Back When’ was Davido’s introduction to the game then ‘Dami Duro’ is the song that established that he came to stay. Dami Duro was the lead single off his debut album ‘Omo Baba Olowo,’ a project that was filled with hit songs. He released the album in 2012, the same year he won a Headies Award.
Aye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ-_HIoEBE8
Whenever Davido decides to do a love song, more often than not it turns out to be a hit and the same goes for ‘Aye’. With this song, Davido was able to connect to the older audience, a group of people who he had never really connected with before. This song has become a staple at Nigerian weddings.
GOBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFDu6ACKLKo
Between 2013 and 2016, Davido was on a run of singles and features that really shaped his career and helped it take off. ‘Gobe’ was one of those songs, the fast paced beat, catchy lyrics and adlibs made the song one of the most popular afrobeats songs of 2013.
Skelewu
Davido has never really been a dancer, but with ‘Skelewu’ he delivered a catchy song that had a dance to it. It went viral and blew up so much that Davido released 2 music videos for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqflXTvth3s
Assurance
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucVJrja8r6Q
Another love song, and this one was all about his relationship with his fiancée at the time Chioma, though that relationship now seems to have fallen apart. Davido is really good at taking aspects of his life and making memorable records out of them.
IF
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=helEv0kGHd4
2017 was like a comeback year for Davido, in previous years he had signed with Sony and released an EP hoping to appeal to a more international audience, it didn’t work out. Tekno wrote and produced ‘IF’ and gave it to Davido who made the most of it. ‘IF’ is one of the most important songs in Davido’s career.
FIA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ORvJcpe2Oc
Another song from 2017, Davido’s comeback year. The streets had barely recovered from ‘IF’ when he dropped ‘FIA,’ a play on the word fire. What a track it was and still is.
FEM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lta5go9P-go
This song perfectly embodies Davido’s character. In 2020, at the peak of the pandemic, Davido took a break from the online space for a few months and returned with ‘FEM’, which directly translates to shutup. The song made waves because he seemed to have taken a shot at Grammy Winner Burna Boy.
FALL
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Iyuym-Gci0
Arguably the biggest song from Davido’s comeback year and the biggest song in his career to date. The song got gold certifications in Canada and the United States, it peaked at number 3 on the Billboard world digital sales and got airplay in many countries from its release in 2017 till a few years after.
These are our picks for Davido’s 10 most iconic songs, which of them is your favorite? Are there any you think we missed out?
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