Davido argued that Nigerian artistes were not getting international bookings before the global success of D’banj’s 2012 hit single ‘Oliver Twist’
By Kehinde Okeowo
Ace Afrobeats singer, David Adeleke, better known as Davido, has sent tongues wagging on social media after claiming that D’banj was the first Nigerian musician to achieve global stardom.
The ‘Electricity’ crooner made the assertion in a recent interview with Apple Music, where he said Nigerian artistes were not getting international bookings before the global success of D’banj’s 2012 hit single ‘Oliver Twist’.
According to him, Davido claims D’banj was first Nigerian singer to gain global recognition, Nigerians disagree international success inspired a paradigm shift which led African music to gain traction in the Western world.
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Speaking during the chat, Davido said, “D’banj was my first vision of a Nigerian artist taking over the world. No one in America was booking Nigerian artists for shows but that changed when I saw Kanye West in D’banj’s ‘Oliver Twist’ video on YouTube.
“It was because of the success of ‘Oliver Twist’ that Americans started booking D’banj, 2Face, P-Square and other African artists for shows. They were making about $1,000,000 per show. So I decided to switch and start doing African music because that’s where I am from.”
Reacting to the claim, many netizens disagreed with Davido, saying while D’banj contributed to the globalization of Afrobeats, he was not the first Nigerian singer to achieve international stardom.
They noted that music legends such as Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, King Sunny Ade, Majek Fashek and hosts of others were making waves on the international stage in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.
They added that 2Baba’s hit song ‘African Queen’ won several international awards and was used as a soundtrack of the popular American romantic comedy ‘Phat Girlz’ (2006), years before D’banj’s ‘Oliver Twist’ was released.
