Davido: A Name Synonymous With Afrobeats

Nigerian music superstar David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has asserted his significant influence on the afrobeats genre. Speaking to TheBeatJuice magazine, the Skelewu hitmaker declared, “Afrobeats can’t be brought up without my name. Impossible.”

Davido is widely acknowledged as one of the top three afrobeats artists, alongside Wizkid and Burna Boy. However, like his contemporaries, he has expressed mixed feelings about the genre’s labeling. In a recent appearance on the Business Untitled Podcast, Davido explained his preference for being identified as an “afro-fusion” artist rather than being confined to the afrobeats tag.

He explained, “I don’t get offended when we’ve been categorised as Afrobeats. I mean, we need a genre. It could be R&B or Afropop. I call my music Afrofusion, but I’m not big on insisting people label it that way. I understand how long it took for African music to gain mainstream recognition.”

Despite this perspective, Davido appreciates the global spotlight afrobeats has brought to African music, reinforcing his place as a key figure in the genre’s success.