#DavidoAt10: The timeline and legacy of an unlikely ‘underdog’ [Part 2]

This part examines how Davido endeared himself to a female fan base, his various beefs, how he’s used music to kill controversy, his political affiliations, shortcomings and legacy.

Also looking random but very intentional is Davido’s strategy to always appeal to his female audience. As he’s gone from ‘being badder’ on ‘All of You’ to “Baddest” on ‘Aye,’ he has taken his female fan base with him.

But before he dedicated ‘Assurance’ to his ex-fiancee and celebrated his baby mamas on ‘Wonder Woman,’ he was a fresh-faced boy with a love song problem. ‘Ekuro’ was loved by the ladies, but it was a pop record, ‘Gobe’ was slightly toxic and ‘Feel Alright’ was slightly under the radar.

After the groundbreaking success of ‘Aye,’ Davido has never gone five singles without having one song with a strong female appeal. This aided the cause of records like ‘Assurance’ and ‘Wonder Woman,’ and even ‘Nwa Baby’ in a love-filled 2017/2018 era for Davido – a time when #MeToo and #TimesUp was popping and black women needed to be celebrated.

It’s also why his public romance dalliance with Chioma Rowland got more admiration than cynicism. As genuine as the love was, that romance was strategically engineered to favour Davido. Records like ‘Aye,’ ‘IF,’ FIA’ and ‘Fall’ prepared grounds for records like ‘One Milli’ ‘Blow My Mind’ and ‘Jowo.’

It’s not been all love though. Davido has butted heads with several people over the years especially his frenemy, Wizkid. Recently, Burna Boy has been added to that list. With Wizkid, Davido seems to have a longing for unity that is being betrayed by competition. In a lot of ways, the fans played a role in elevating that bad blood with constant comparison.

When both men launched onto this scene, they were 20 and 18 respectively. It’s only natural that egos will and tempers will run over. As Davido told Ebuka, he tried to do an album and a tour with Wizkid, but both attempts fell flat. Word even has it that Davido was in the studio the day that Wizkid recorded the Shizzi-produced ‘Your Body’ off EME’s compilation album, Empire Mates State of Mind.

But on the other side of the divide, word also has it that Wizkid has always heard murmurs from Davido’s camp about how he’s truly perceived by the DMW boss. Recently, another one reportedly happened shortly after Wizkid released ‘Made In Lagos.’ But overall, both men will probably regret not making a song together in their prime when they’re well into their 30s.

Nonetheless, it feels like Davido’s background can always be used as an excuse by his peers. In May 2020, Burna Boy still stared that pot when he seemed to take shots at Davido’s affluent background and talent.

But at every point in Davido’s life, he has been able to use music to kill or address controversy. When Dele Momodu reportedly slapped him at the Murtala Muhammed Airport over the custody and well-being of his first child, Imade, he addressed it on ‘Osinachi (Remix)’ and ‘Bad Baddo Baddest,’ where they will have worth.

When DJ Olu, Chime and Tagbo died in the middle of his incredible 2017 run, he ended the year with a banging ‘Like Dat.’

He then ran into 2018 with ‘Assurance’ and ‘Wonder Woman,’ celebrating women and the love of his life to deflect from the controversy around those deaths.

Davido’s dad has always been in certain political circles and his uncle, Senator Demola Adeleke has always been into politics. But Davido’s political side had a slow build-up.

First off, he gave former Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio a shout-out on MC Galaxy’s classic, ‘Nek Unek.’ He then dropped “Believe in Imoke” to support Liyel Imoke on KCee’s ‘Ogaranya.’

By 2018, Davido declared his support for the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), in support of his aforementioned uncle who wanted to become the next governor of Osun State. While that bid failed, Davido didn’t stop.

During the EndSARS protests, he was at the forefront of discussions with people in power and ‘FEM’ became Nigeria’s war tune.

Sometimes, Davido’s life can be too open to social media users and that causes ‘see finish.’ While he’s simply living his life and other people’s ‘see finish’ is not his problem, you can’t eat your cake and have it. More importantly, the greatest criticism of Davido’s career is his inability to produce a universally acclaimed album thus far.

Possibly due to how he wanted to compete, he over-relied on singles while Olamide and Burna Boy built their respective discography. Make no mistake, Davido’s success came when Nigeria was stuck in a singles market, where bodies of work were slightly out of style, but his greatness has still taken a hit for that shortcoming.

That’s one mistake he needs to correct as soon as possible. Thankfully, he still has time – he’s only 28.

Davido lost his mom early in his life and that reality probably made him need and rely on people – friends. His career is synonymous with the presence of crews. First off, his HKN days came with his cousins, B-Red and Shina Rambo.

After he refused to sign with D’Banj’s DB Records – thanks to Special Spesh – he formed his own label, DMW, which has gone on to become one of Nigeria’s most reliable bed of talent. The label has its own crew but its 30 BG that truly exemplifies the meaning of a crew. When they pull up on you, you will notice.

In that crew is a lot of people that he’s helped and uplifted. Davido is also known for his fierce loyalty to his people. During his press run for A Good Time, he carried the Yonda evangelism on his back. While he once fired him and got managed by Kamal, Asa Asika has been a core part of Davido’s success.

Outside 30 BG, he has also helped people. In 2018, he contributed to David Adeleke’s tuition. Now, Adeleke is the Head of Communications at Eko Atlantic. Before then, he was Editor of Business Insider SSA.

His legacy is also his kids. Over the past few years, we’ve not heard a peep amongst Davido’s baby mamas. Instead, we see their kids play together and hang out across the globe. Recently, he celebrated Hailey’s birthday. It was both nice and cute to see Davido playfully correct Hailey for twerking.

These days, he’s become an elder statesman. After the success of Tekno’s ‘Holiday,’ the stock of Davido’s co-sign skyrocketed across the African continent. Now, he is the most attainable superstar feature in the country because he understands when to help and when to both help and hop on a wave. In a lot of ways, he and Drake share similarities.

The way he and his DMW crew started giving songs near-random one-word titles around 2017 has also inspired how Nigerians title songs.

Davido’s greatness is sealed but he retains hunger and drive like a rookie. He is constantly ready to prove a point and make a case. He wants to be the underdog and why not? It’s not like Nigerians don’t doubt his talent every chance they get.