A month into the new year, Davido is already set for what will surely be one of its greatest musical talking points: the release of his fifth studio album. The album, 5ive, will hope to surpass its generic nomenclature when it releases in mid-March, and for Davido, it represents a very important pivot. At a time when Nigerian music is more unstable and unpredictable than ever, a successful project in the year’s first quarter will provide much needed stability to the industry and solidify his position in the elite amidst talk of dethronements and promotions. To achieve this, though, Davido will have to dip into creative depths we know he possesses and emerge with a truly special project, worthy of sitting beside classics like A Good Time and Timeless. Here are five things that we would expect to see on such an album.
Naija-Centric Afropop Music
Nigerian music has grown cosmopolitan in recent years, with a lot of its new appeal attributable to sonic experimentation and creativity that have polished the sound. Over the last ten years, we have sharpened vocals and beautified melodies, but scaled back on African percussion and slowed down the tempo. Davido is one of a few artists that, to both praise and criticism, has striven to retain elements of the past. It may not reflect growth and forward thinking, and he does not secure crossover hits as often as his peers. But if Davido is one thing, it’s authentic, and any fan who tunes into his upcoming album should hope to be met with proper Afropop music, made for a Nigerian audience, blooming with slang and innuendo and bouncing with rhythmic African percussion. Already, his lead singles, Awuke and Funds, set the stage for an album of this nature; here’s hoping for more of the same.
Smart Collaboration
One more feature Davido displays on those singles is a keen eye for collaboration. It is another quality of his that has endured over the years, and one that allows him to get the best part of what the industry has to offer into his own mixture. When it works, like on Funds, Davido is able to blend in ODUMODUBLVCK’s gritty rap and Chike’s saccharine melodies into one animated mix, a little lacking in cohesion but more than compensating for it in vibrancy. A similarly widened scope of collaborators will provide 5ive with a breadth of artistry and songwriting talent. Timeless flourished with effusive and varied inputs: from Angelique Kidjo to Fave to The Cavemen to Musa Keys. Davido will hope to replicate this effect on 5ive.
Spotlight On DMW’s Rising Stars
Davido has sunk much effort into assembling a repertoire of younger stars under a self-owned label. First came HKN music, which he co-founded with his cousin Adewale Adeleke and under which he signed Mayorkun and Dremo. When he exited the label in 2016 to launch Davido Music Worldwide he took with him the two artists he had signed, and a little later they were joined by Peruzzi. For a spell the group held the Nigerian audience captive, churning hit after hit from their factory of genius. 2021 saw the departure of Mayorkun and Peruzzi, the label’s creative powerhouses, bringing this momentum to a halt. What followed next was a clearout of the label. Leading into Timeless, he unveiled DMW 2.0, the label’s next generation, kicking off this new roster by committing two young artists, Logos Olori and Morravey, who made appearances on the album.
In the two years since, they have kickstarted their careers—Morravey with the RAVI EP and Logos Olori with a number of singles—but are yet to make a mark on the music scene that would put them in the same league as the label’s alumni. On 5ive, Davido will be granted another chance to propel their careers—a well-placed, well-delivered verse on a major album is often everything a young artist needs for publicity—or as he did with Timeless, introduce newer artists to the public.
A Musical Rebuttal To The Noise
For reasons still unclear, Davido spent most of 2024 fielding insults, direct and veiled, from his peers—Wizkid and Burna Boy. What began as a mutual trading of blows with Wizkid over Twitter in the most immature language continued long after Davido stopped responding, as his rival continued to launch tirades against him. It was the period leading up to the release of Wizkid’s fifth studio album, Morayo, and many still think that was Wizkid’s intention to provoke a trending discourse and galvanize his fanbase ahead of its launch, a tactic borrowed from a new ugly playbook for music marketing that prioritizes generating controversy.
Later in the year it was the turn of Burna Boy, who first threw shade at Davido after a fan of the DMW boss had come after him on Twitter. A few months later, goaded by another fan, he appeared to ridicule Davido’s marriage on Twitter. As the year closed the self-styled African Giant ramped his attacks, casting aspersions on Davido’s purchase of a house, whilst being embroiled in another spat with Cubana Chief Priest, Davido’s longtime friend. Davido has commendably remained unprovoked in the face of slander, but his album presents an opportunity to address some of the jabs against him. Davido’s Fem of 2021, his first release in nearly a year, shocked his career to new life and invigorated a feud he had waged with Burna Boy at the time. Nigerian music beef is more often fought over Twitter than in the studio these days, but 5ive presents an opportunity for Davido to put his argument into music in a way his peers failed to do.
An End To His Wavering Pattern With Projects
Whilst being one of Nigeria’s finest and best-loved creators, Davido has not always maintained consistency across his studio projects. OBO: The Genesis was an introduction that held in its clasp Davido’s enormous potential and his manifesto for the industry. He would however follow it up with Son Of Mercy, an ill-conceived effort towards the Afrobeats to the world movement that was at its nascency. By blending foreign sounds into an Afrobeats soundscape, Davido attempted to service two markets with one EP, but ultimately penetrated neither. After renouncing it, Davido made a U-turn with a sonic reset, dominating 2017 and ‘18 with a slew of hits that kept things simple and authentic. Many of these songs—If, Fall, Assurance, Risky—went on to form the core of his sophomore album, A Good Time.
His 2021 project, A Better Time, saw Davido repeat some familiar mistakes. The music was neither very good nor cohesive, while features were an inconsistent toss-up between Afropop earworms (Bella Shmurda on Fade Away, CKay on La La, Tiwa Savage on Tanana) and disjointed international affairs (Nas and Hitboy on Birthday Cake, Lil Baby on So Crazy). Timeless undid most of these missteps, allowing Davido to find his footing again at a time when many had ruled him out. For 5ive, he will hope to build on its gains and stretch his current golden run even further.
