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Davido has denied that he signed Lola Rae and Dammy Krane to his record label, Davido Music Worldwide.
The Nigerian pop star set up his personal record label in January 2016, and made quite the splash when he signed up two stars – Dremo and Mayorkun – who have since grown.
Later in the year he brought on two more additions, or so he made us to believe. Dammy Krane came first. The singer who was formerly signed to 2face Idibia’s Hypertek Records, switched places to go under the banner of his long-time friend and collaborator.
Lola Rae came next. When she was signed in November 2016, the British-Nigerian singer became the first female signed to Davido. She then collaborated on the song, ‘Biko’ with Davido.
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But it turns out both signings were not really true signings. They were cosigns. According to Davido, during an interview at Lagos radio station – Soundcity 98.5FM – Dammy Krane and Lola Rae were not truly signed to him.
“My only artistes are Mayorkun, Dremo and Yonda. Lola Rae and Dammy Krane are not signed to me,” Davido said. "There is no contract, but we are all family."
This marks another new turn for Davido’s business. When last year he removed himself from HKN, 2017 has seen him reshuffle his inner circle. His ex-manager, Kamal Ajiboye, was fired ceremoniously and replaced by his first ever manager, Asa Asika.
Other new moves has seen Davido modify his contract in Africa, and sign a new deal which gives him the creative freedom to create and release music his own way. And on evidence of his debut single, that’s a good thing.
He recently released a single titled ‘If’, produced by Tekno.
Davido and Tekno worked hard together at creating the perfect wavy sound to sit right at the heart of the tempo and sound motif that Lagos and all its surrounding cities are basking in. That drop-stop drumkick, combined with meandering pop synths, and intermittent supply of horns feel like heaven.
“No do, no do, no do gra gra for me..” Davido sings on the chorus, a clear borrowing of Lagbaja’s hit song,’Gra Gra’, which would hit the recognition centers of our brains and pave way for better acceptance.
In the past year, the singer has tried to evolve to meet Sony standards and direction, and that has resulted in him making some of the poorest music of his career. But on ‘If’, we get back the Davido we fell in love with; witty, indigenous, generous, energized and creative.