Rejoinder: The truth about Davido’s debut album

by Amatesiro Dore

“The son of a gateman should, at least, aspire to be a Commissioner of Police.” – Words my father told me in Itsekiri.

I have never met Davido but I have interacted with his work and I’ve studied his Alexandria rise in the Nigerian music club. Less than two years on the grind, Davido is on every mobile playlist in Nigeria, even as you read; the first guest invited to every Nigerian party, even before you thought of it; the most popular self-made teenager in Nigeria, without his fathers’ billions.

It began with a dream, with a good team and without his father. Davido dropped out of school, a little older than the voting age, and teamed up with a fellow school dropout – Asa Asika – a little older than himself. Without experience in anything except breathing and the love of music, with a little talent – as some have claimed – here he is, on your face, with his debut album comprising of three Nigerian hit singles and a collaboration with the best – Tuface Idibia.

Davido’s singular rise has made many famous. Members of the HKN Gang – Asa Asika, Shizzi, Sina Rambo, Bayo Adeleke and others – have enshrined their names on the Nigerian music map thanks to the Omo Baba Olowo crooner.

Davido’s father has also benefited from this fame, before Omo Baba Olowo, he was just the unknown friend of Aliko Dangote and the younger brother of an ex-governor of a Nigerian State. Sonia – a previously obscure groupie might one day eclipse the career of Kim Kardashian thanks to the twitter trending might of Davido. Ore Fakorede’s articles on YNaija struggled to garner readers until he targeted the Davido jackpot. Davido has added more to the Nigerian GDP than the rest of his mates and detractors.

Whenever Davido’s music comes on, either as a distracting ringtone in Church or that noise in your employers’ office, what I hear is the sound of hard work, the strength of Lagos beats, and the spirit of Nigerian youths.

To all who don’t understand Davido’s album and probably also don’t understand the words my father told me in Itsekiri and how it relates to this rejoinder, I say this to you: it will be very nice if you write your own rejoinder; produce your own good music and make number one out of it.

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

Comments (3)

  1. Poorly written rejoinder…Next time you want to respond to a well written article such as the one that was written by Ore Fakorede, get a professional to do it!

  2. I think the major problem we have in Nigeria is expecting too much from mere mortals. A young Dude drops an Album with three hit singles and yet someone criticizes unnecessarily. Even the worlds greatest Artists do not always succeed in making all the tracks on their Albums 'hit tracks'. In every facet of life as in Music, there is room for improvement. Davido like every other Nigerian hopes to take his 'Trade' to the next level and having the courage to take a bold step is an effort that should be commended not condemned by imperfect mortals.

  3. Another perspective….hmmmmmmn i dunno! i kinda agree with the first guy tho (over-blunt but still true)! As much as it took hard work to produce this album, it still lacks something. I think that for the benefit of music and growth, it could have been better done as regarding lyrical content

    I don't agree with telling pple to go make their own music because they criticized someoneelse's….Davido ( and anybody else) cant do my job for me, and if i get criticized by my clients, boss or the public, i wont tell them to come and do the work and see if they do it better. If people ( a good number, who may never get on a platform to talk about it) don't like something especially when it comes to music or movies or entertainment….you either try to do it better or don't care to change, it depends on what that creative personality was trying to achieve with their music. Bjoork is an act in Europe that i am sure most Nigerians can't stand….who cares!..SO Davido can decide to care….or not!!!!

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