Davido: “You Can’t Talk About Afrobeats Without Mentioning My Name”

Award-winning Nigerian artist, David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has highlighted his pivotal role in the global recognition of the Afrobeats genre.

Speaking on the Business Untitled Podcast, the ‘Unavailable’ hitmaker reflected on his contributions to African music and addressed the categorization of all African artists under the Afrobeats umbrella, regardless of their unique styles.

Davido shared that while he prefers to define his sound as “afro-fusion,” he isn’t offended by the Afrobeats label, acknowledging its positive impact on African music’s growth.

“I don’t get offended when we’re categorized as Afrobeats. I mean, we need a genre. It could be R&B or Afropop,” Davido explained.

He emphasized the importance of having a unifying genre for African music to thrive globally, adding, “I call my music Afrofusion, but I’m not big on insisting it be labeled as such. I know how long it took for African music to become mainstream.”

Davido’s reflections come at a time when Afrobeats continues to dominate global charts, making his role in its success even more significant.