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Afrobeats is on a global ascension and behind the music is a collection of superstars like Grammy-nominated hitmaker Davido.
Nigerian multi-award-winning superstar Davido recently appeared on The Bride alongside Real Madrid French midfielder Aurelian Thouameni, Cindy Bruna, and François-Henry Bennahmias.
Davido revisited his early days signing to global record label Sony Music in 2016 and the challenges of needing to prove himself to people who weren't familiar with his exploits.
According to Davido, he signed to Sony Music shortly after selling out a stadium in Mali and he was subjected to proofing himself.
"When we come to sign record deals overseas, they don't know we are superstars back home. When I signed my first deal, I just did a 60,000-capacity stadium in Mali. So when you signed a new deal, they're asking you 'What's your name? What type of music do you make?'," Davido said explaining how he went from being a superstar in Africa to an emerging star in the US.
The Nigerian musician further shared that he was paired up with top-class producers to create a project and he recorded his 2016 EP 'Son of Mercy' which according to his standards was a failure.
"When I first came they put me with some producers but it didn't work out. We dropped an EP under Sony which was my first project but it felt like a failure to me. Some people might see it as success but that wasn't it for me."
Davido's 'Son of Mercy' EP despite having the popular tracks 'Skelewu', 'How Long' feat Tinashe, and 'Coolest Kid in Africa' feat South African rapper Nasty C didn't live up to the standard he has set as a hitmaker. 'Skelewu' which was an Afrobeats song was the only track that resonated locally with the EP crafted to help break him into the US market.
In the interview, Davido narrated how he went back to Lagos and created new music with his producers. One of the songs is 'IF' produced and co-written by Tekno.
'IF' would bring Davido the international success Sony Music attempted to get with the 'Son of Mercy' EP.
In the 1 hour 22 minutes long interview, Davido also talked about the rise of Nigerian music, the sacrifices of the first generation of stars, and the sacrifices he and other stars are making for the future generation.
You can watch the full interview below.