David Adedeji Adeleke OON was born November 21, 1992, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, and raised in Lagos, Nigeria; he made his music debut as a member of the group KB International. Davido studied businesswho is professionally known as Davido, is an American-born Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. Davido studied business administration at Oakwood University before dropping out to make beats and record vocal references. He rose to fame after releasing “Dami Duro”, the second single from his debut studio album Omo Baba Olowo (2012), from which six additional singles—”Back When”, “Ekuro”, “Overseas”, “All of You”, “Gbon Gbon” and “Feel Alright”—were taken. In 2012, Davido won the Next Rated award at The Headies. Between 2013 and 2015, he released the hit singles “Gobe”, “One of a Kind”, “Skelewu”, “Aye”, “Tchelete (Goodlife)”, “Naughty”, “Owo Ni Koko”, “The Sound” and “The Money”.
Davido has four children; two boys and two girls. He confirmed his marriage to his partner Chioma Rowland in March 2023.
On October 31, 2022, Peoples Gazette newspaper reported the death of Davido’s oldest son and third child David Ifeanyi Adeleke Jr., who drowned in a swimming pool at his father’s Banana Island residence; he was three years old at the time of his death. Police questioned members of Davido’s household staff.Eight domestic workers were invited to the police station for questioning after one had reported the drowning accident to the police station. Following the police investigation, six workers were released and two remained in detention.
Davido won Best African Act at the 2017 MOBO Awards. On February 17, 2017, he released “If”, which was produced by Tekno, who ghost-wrote the track for Davido. The song was a certified diamond by the Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA), indicating shipments of 200,000 units. “If” won Best Pop Single and Song of the Year at The Headies 2018. Reviewing for OkayAfrica, Sabo Kpade described the song as a “slow burner” with an “unfussy beat that sounds hollowed out and isn’t cluttered with instruments”. The music video for “If” was recorded in London; it was directed by Director Q and produced by Tunde Babalola. Davido teamed up with menswear designer Orange Culture to release a capsule collection inspired by “If”.
Davido released “Fall”, which includes a sample of Kojo Funds’s track “Dun Talking”, on June 2, 2017. RISA certified “Fall” platinum; the song was one of the 100-most-Shazam-searched singles in America in January 2019, and was a top-10 record on Shazam in New York. In February 2019, it became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song in Billboard history. “Fall” was ranked at number 163 on Pitchfork’s list of the 200 Best Songs of the 2010s.[88] Nigerian-born British video director Daps directed the music video for “Fall”, which in December 2018 exceeded 100 million views, becoming the most-viewed video by a Nigerian artist on YouTube.
On November 10, 2017, Davido released “Fia”, which was produced by Fresh VDM and described as a neo-highlife track. In its second verse, Davido addresses his arrest and Caroline Danjuma’s role in fueling a rumor he was involved in the death of Tagbo Umenike. A writer for Native magazine praised Davido’s songwriting and said “Fia” “manages to reflect some of his recent personal struggles, without directly dishing into sensitive details”. Reviewing for Music in Africa, Kayode Faniyi said “Fia” offers an “existential conflict” and that it is “undoubtedly the song of Davido’s career—at least till he outdoes himself”. Daniel Orubo of Konbini Channels described “Fia” as a “coherent” track that uses Davido’s “croaky voice”. “Fia” was nominated for Best Pop Single and Song of the Year at The Headies 2018. Clarence Peters the song’s accompanying music video. The Stefflon Don-assisted remix of “Fia” was released on March 30, 2018. The remix retains many elements from the original recording but incorporates a patois-tinged flow. Davido won Best African Act and was one of the Best Worldwide Act recipients at the 2017 MTV Europe Music Awards. Davido released “Assurance” on April 30, 2018; he dedicated the track to his girlfriend and released it to coincide with her 23rd birthday. Reviewing for Native magazine, Toye Sokunbi said the song “speaks volumes for the importance of clarity in the age of emojis, validation from our loved ones and putting love first, against all odds”. Davido won Best International Act at the 2018 BET Awards, becoming the first African artist to receive his award on the main stage. In his acceptance speech, he urged patrons and American artists to visit Africa and eat the food.
In August and September 2018, Davido performed at House of Blues in Boston as part of his “The Locked Up Tour”, which commented in August and ended in September. In September, following this tour, he performed alongside Meek Mill, Post Malone and Fat Joe at the Made in America Festival.
In June 2022, Davido told Rolling Stone magazine his fourth studio album Timeless was nearly complete. On March 21, 2023, he announced on Instagram the album would be released on March 31. A theatrical trailer composed of tour footage accompanied the announcement. Timeless was Davido’s first album in three years. He told CNN the album’s title, which record producer Don Jazzy suggested to him, is a manifestation of his goal for the album to be remembered for decades as a classic. He also told the news channel the album went through three phases before its final version. The 17-track album includes collaborations with Skepta, Angelique Kidjo, Asake, Focalistic, The Cavemen and others. Its production was handled by Magicsticks, Rage, Darmie, Blaisebeatz, 1da Banton, Caltonic SA, Young Alpha and others. Primarily an amapiano record, Timeless explores musical styles such as dancehall, ragga, konto, highlife and Afropop. The album’s cover art features an image of Davido’s head, two enclosed elephants, and a pathway that leads to a large hourglass. Davido has been an icon and having one of his biggest hit “Unavailable”which is known world wide.