Afrobeats star David Adeleke, popularly known as Davido, has recognized veteran musician D’banj for his trailblazing efforts in bringing Nigerian music to the global stage.
During an interview with Apple Music, Davido highlighted that D’banj’s 2012 hit “Oliver Twist” opened doors for Nigerian artists on the international scene.
He credited D’banj’s success as a major influence on his own career, inspiring him to embrace African music and proudly represent his cultural roots, which has helped propel the genre’s worldwide growth.
Davido said:
“D’banj was my first vision of a Nigerian artist taking over the world. No one in America was booking Nigerian artists for shows but that changed when I saw Kanye West in D’banj’s ‘Oliver Twist’ video on YouTube.
“It was because of the success of ‘Oliver Twist’ that Americans started booking D’banj, 2Face, P-Square and other African artists for shows. They were making about $1,000,000 per show. So I decided to switch and start doing African music because that’s where I am from.”