User:Rebecca Damilola/sandbox

David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), popularly known as Davido, is a Nigerian-American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Davido blends traditional African elements with global mainstream pop. Davido won the Next Rated award in 2012 at The Headies after releasing "Dami Duro", the second single from his debut studio album Omo Baba Olowo(2012). Between 2013 and 2015, he also released a number of hit singles and in January 2016 he signed a record deal with Sony Music. He then founded the record label Davido Music Worldwide (DMW), to which acts Dremo, Mayorkun, Peruzzi and Liya have been signed. In July 2016, Davido signed a record deal with Sony's RCA Records. In October 2016, he released the 5-track EP Son of Mercy, which was supported by the singles "Gbagbe Oshi", "How Long" and "Coolest Kid in Africa". In April 2017, Davido re-negotiated his contract with Sony due to creative control issues and later that year he released five singles including "If" and "Fall". "If" generated worldwide social media activity while "Fall" became the longest-charting Nigerian pop song in Billboard history. Davido has been famously referred to as 'The king of modern-day afrobeats'.

Early life
David Adedeji Adeleke was born on November 21, 1992, in Atlanta, Georgia. His father Adedeji Adeleke is a business magnate and his mother Vero Adeleke was a university lecturer. Davido is the youngest of five siblings and his father's second-born son. He attended the British International School in Lagos, Nigeria, and at the age of 16, he moved back to the US to study business administration at Oakwood University in Alabama.

Davido bought musical equipment while at Oakwood and started making beats. He also worked with his cousins B-Red and Sina Rambo to form the music act KB International. Davido dropped out of Oakwood University to pursue music full-time and relocated to London, where he worked on his vocals. After returning to Nigeria in 2011, Davido paused his music career and agreed to honor his father by enrolling at Babcock University. In July 2015, he graduated from Babcock with a degree in music after his father paid the university to start a music department for an inaugural class of one student.

2011–2012: Omo Baba Olowo
Davido started working on his debut studio album Omo Baba Olowo in 2011. The album's music is a mixture of Afrobeats and hip hop. Davido worked with Jay Sleek, Maleek Berry, GospelOnDeBeatz, Spellz, Dokta Frabz, Mr. Chidoo, Theory Soundz and Shizzi to produce the album. Omo Baba Olowo features guest appearances from Naeto C, Sina Rambo, B-Red, Kayswitch, Ice Prince and 2 Face Idibia. It received generally negative reviews from music critics, who panned its lyrical content and Davido's songwriting. The album won Best R&B/Pop Album and received a nomination for Album of the Year at The Headies 2013. It was also nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2013 Nigeria Entertainment Awards.

The Naeto C-assisted track "Back When" was released as the album's lead single on May 7, 2011. It was produced by Davido and received frequent airplay. Davido told television channel Factory 78 he recorded "Back When" in London. The Clarence Peters-directed music video for "Back When" was uploaded to YouTube on May 9, 2011. The album's second single "Dami Duro", which was released on October 30, 2011, was jointly produced by Davido and Shizzi. In an interview posted on the NotJustOk website, Davido said he recorded the song in August of that year. The song was leaked three months after he sent it to some of his friends. The accompanying music video for "Dami Duro" was released on January 8, 2012, during the Occupy Nigeria protests.

The album's third single "Ekuro" was released on January 25, 2012. Its music video was recorded and directed in Miami by Antwan Smith. Nigerian singer Aramide released a soulful rendition of the song. The album's fourth single "Overseas" was released on May 6, 2012; an unfinished version of the song was leaked prior to its official release. The GospelOnDeBeatz-produced track "All of You" was released as the album's fifth single on September 28, 2012. Davido told Factory 78 TV he recorded the song with GospelOnDeBeatz after meeting him at a mall.

2013–2016: Standalone releases, The Baddest and Son of Mercy
On February 25, 2013, Davido released the Shizzi-produced track "Gobe". It was ranked second on Premium Times ' list of the Top 10 songs of 2013. In a review for Vanguard newspaper, Charles Mgbolu said the song "exudes fun from start to finish". The music video for "Gobe" was recorded in South Africa by Godfather Productions. Davido announced on Twitter "One of a Kind" would be released on May 13, 2013. The song was also produced by Shizzi. The video for "One of a Kind" was recorded and directed in South Africa by Tebza of Godfather Productions. It depicts a united Africa that is rich in culture and music.

"Skelewu" was released on August 13, 2013. It was ranked fifth on Premium Times ' list of the top 10 songs of 2013. Davido promoted "Skelewu" on 18 August 2013 by uploading an instructional dance video that was directed by Jassy Generation to YouTube. The video's release was accompanied by an announcement of a "Skelewu" dance competition.

"Skelewu" was supported with two music videos. The first music video, directed by Sesan, was released on 15 October 2013. It was uploaded to YouTube using a parody account. Shortly after the video's release, Davido said someone betrayed him by releasing it and that he would make another video with Moe Musa, a UK based music video director. In a statement released by his team, Sesan said Davido was satisfied with his contributions to the music video; he also said it would be immature for Davido and his management to release inaccurate statements to defame his brand. The official music video for "Skelewu" was recorded and directed in London by Moe Musa, and was released in October 2013.

Davido released the T-Spize-produced song "Aye" on February 1, 2014. The video for the song was directed by Clarence Peters and released on February 7, 2014. In the video, Davido plays a poor farmer who falls in love with the prince's fiancé. Davido's collaborative single with South African duo Mafikizolo, titled "Tchelete (Goodlife)", was released on April 30, 2014. It was produced by Oskido and Shizzi, and distributed by MTN's Play and Callertunez platforms. Prior to recording "Tchelete (Goodlife)", Davido networked with Mafikizolo at MTN Nigeria's Elite Night event in December 2013. The music video for "Tchelete (Goodlife)" was recorded and directed by Twenty Twenty Media. Oskido and Uhuru made cameo appearances in the video.

Other ventures
On April 6, 2012, Nigerian Entertainment Today reported Davido had signed a ₦30 million endorsement deal with MTN. The deal unveiled him as the face of MTN Pulse, a marketing campaign aimed at Nigerian youth. On October 24, 2013, Pulse Nigeria reported Guinness Nigeria had signed Davido for an endorsement deal. As part of the deal, He performed at the Guinness World of More Concert alongside artists including P-Square, D'banj, Wizkid, Ice Prince, Burna Boy, Olamide, Phyno, Chidinma, Waje and Tiwa Savage.

On May 9, 2018, Guardian Life reported Davido had signed an endorsement deal with Infinix Mobile, a Hong Kong-based smartphone manufacturer. In May 2021, he was announced as an official brand ambassador by the popular sports betting brand 1xBet. On June 11, Martell (cognac) announced Davido as its new ambassador.

Davido continues to empower and work with rising talents such as Jels Quiah. In August 2020, Davido appeared on the song UNCTION with Jels Quiah alongside Ice Prince and Walshy Fire. The song became a quick success.

On November 17, 2021, Davido challenged his true friends to send the sum of one million naira each to his bank account. Davido noted that anyone that doesn’t come through with the challenge should not associate with him anymore. The funds started rolling in and he was able to raise 201 million naira in total, he added 50 million out of his own pocket and set a panel to disburse the money to orphanages in Nigeria. Davido shared a copy of the statement via Twitter with the caption "we rise by lifting others". Davido had put up a post on his Instagram page challenging his friends to show him love by crediting his account which  number he posted. Little did he know that he had just created an opportunity for his friends to show him how loved he is. He made the post on Wednesday morning, and by Thursday evening, he had amassed over N150 million.

In actuall fact, not many believed people would rise up to Davido’s challenge the way they did. From celebrities to fans and to family, they all showed the level of love they had for Davido, by meeting up with his N100million challenge and surpassing it. Davido had made it clear that the donations were for his birthday and to clear his new Rolls Royce automobile at the port and he also purchased Lamborghini Aventador after few weeks. He was able to raise just over N201 million in total, he added N50 million from his own pocket and set a panel to disburse the funds to orphanages across Nigeria in an act which was commended by public figures in Nigeria and abroad. The donors include Femi Otedola, Obi Cubana, Zlatan Ibile, Eniola Badmus and E-Money.